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The  Story  of  the 
Old  Boston  Town  House 


■-   mk    a   m    ■■*    — »    ■■»   *■-   »■*   »■*    »■■-  Jig   »ig   aig-   "■■   "»   Jig  air  are 


The  Story  of  the 
Old  Boston  Town  House 

1658-1711 

BY 
JOS  I  AH  HENRY  BENTON,  ll.d. 

AUTHOR  OF  "SAMUEL  SLADE  BENTON:  HIS  ANCESTORS  AND  DESCENDANTS' 

"A  NOTABLE  LIBEL  CASE,"  "EARLY  CENSUS-MAKING 

IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  1643-1765,"  &C. 

With  Portraits  and  Illustrations 


BOSTON 

Privately  Printed 

1908 


»■*       JMK      aiK      J1K      rMlK      -MiW 


■miik  jiik  aiair   hhk  air:  aic   •bb»-    ■■■    ji*  jmk 


F 

73-V 
BH-7 


COPYRIGHT,  1908,  BY  J.  H.  BENTON 
[  350  Copies  Printed  ] 


S28T3UC3LLESE  LIBRARY 
KbttiUT  HIU,  MA  02167 * 


D.  B.  UPDIKE,  THE  MERRYMOUNT  PRESS,  BOSTON 


JU-:  -    T986  J 


Contents 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  ix 

CONDITIONS  IN  TOWN  AND  COLONY  BEFORE  THE 

TOWN  HOUSE  WAS  BUILT  3 

ORIGIN  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  49 

COLONY  AND  TOWN  USES  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  69 

SHOPS  UNDER  AND  ABOUT  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  81 

REPAIR  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  89 

GENERAL  USES  WHICH  WERE  MADE  OF  THE  TOWN 

HOUSE  93 

USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  BY  THE  TOWN  OF  BOSTON  97 

THE  TOWN  HOUSE  AS  THE  PLACE  OF  POSTING  NO- 
TICES AND  PUBLISHING  LAWS  107 

USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  AS  THE  PLACE  OF  PUBLIC 

RECORDS  111 

USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  FOR  A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY        119 

USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  AS  A  PLACE  OF  WORSHIP        127 

THE  USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  BY  THE  COLONY 
GOVERNMENT  UNDER  THE  ORIGINAL  CHAR- 
TER, 1659-1686  145 

USE    OF  THE    TOWN    HOUSE   BY   THE    PROVINCIAL 

GOVERNMENT,  1686-1689  173 

USE  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  BY  THE  PROVISIONAL 
GOVERNMENT,  1686-1692;  AND  BY  THE  PROVIN- 
CIAL GOVERNMENT  UNDER  THE  PROVINCE 
CHARTER,  1692-1711  183 


Contents 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  201 

APPENDIX  3* 

REFERENCE  TABLES  19* 

AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED  21* 

INDEX  29* 


List  of  Illustrations 

Facing  page 

BOSTON  TOWN  HOUSE  3 

Drawn  from  a  Description  in  the  Building  Contract 

BOSTON  TOWN  HOUSE  AND  LOCALITY  71 

View  looking  up  State  Street 

Drawn  from  a  Description  in  the  Building  Contract 

PLAN  OF  BOSTON  TOWN  HOUSE  78 

Drawn  from  a  Description  in  the  Building  Contract 

SIMON  BRADSTREET  94 

From  a  painting  in  the  State  House,  Boston 

INCREASE  MATHER  101 

From  a  painting  by  John  Vanderspriet  in  the  possession 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston 

Sir  EDMUND  ANDROS  112 

From  a  painting  in  the  possession  of  W.F.Andros,  Esq., 
of  London 

JOHN  ENDICOTT  154 

From  a  painting  in  the  State  House,  Boston 

SAMUEL  SEWALL  170 

From  a  painting  by  John  Smibert  in  the  possession  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston 

JOSEPH  DUDLEY  196 

From  a  painting  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  Boston 

"BURNINGS  BEWAILED,"  by  Increase  Mather  207 

(1711) 

Reproduction  of  Title-page  from  the  copy  in  the  Boston 
Public  Library 

"ADVICE  FROM  TABERAH,"  by  Cotton  Mather  211 

(1711) 

Reproduction  of  Title-page  from  the  copy  in  the  Boston 
Public  Library 


Introduction 

1689 ;  of  the  government  by  the  people,  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Council  of  Safety  and  Conservation  of 
the  Peace,"  from  1689  until  the  establishment  of  the 
"Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England," 
under  the  Royal  Charter  of  1691,  and  then  under 
this  Charter  until  1711.  The  accomplished  Bellingham, 
the  bigoted  Endicott,  the  passionate  Phips,  the  brave 
and  popular  Leverett,  the  wise  and  conservative  Brad- 
street,  the  tyrannical  Andros,  the  amiable  Bellomont, 
and  the  crafty  and  selfish  Dudley,  all  sat  as  governors 
in  the  council  chamber  of  the  Town  House.  It  was 
here  that  Andros  was  proclaimed  "Governor  of  New 
England"  in  1686,  and  here  he  concentrated  all  execu- 
tive, legislative,  and  judicial  power  in  his  own  hands  for 
nearly  three  years,  until  his  arbitrary  rule  was  broken 
by  the  revolt  of  the  people  and  he  was  driven  from  the 
Colony,  never  to  return.  Here  Dudley  disgraced  the 
judicial  ermine  as  chief  justice,  and  when  the  colo- 
nists claimed  their  rights  under  Magna  Charta  told 
them  they  must  not  expect  the  laws  of  England  would 
follow  them  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Here,  upon  the 
uprising  of  the  people  in  1689,  Dudley  was  brought 
and  guarded  by  armed  men  until  he  was  imprisoned  in 
the  castle  to  protect  him  from  the  fury  of  the  people ; 
and  here,  in  1702,  by  a  strange  turn  of  fortune,  he  again 
came  into  power  and  was  proclaimed  as  "President  of 
Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Main,  and  the  Nar- 
ragansett  country,  or  King's  Province." 

The  Town  House  was  for  more  than  half  a  century 
the  centre  of  the  public  affairs  of  the  town  and  of  the 
Colony.  The  laws  of  the  Colony  were  there  published, 


Introduction 

and  the  regulations  of  the  town  were  there  posted.  Dis- 
tances were  measured  from  it,  and  those  liable  to  mili- 
tary duty  were  summoned  to  assemble  at  it.  Public 
meetings  of  humiliation  and  prayer  and  festivities 
were  held  in  it.  It  was  illuminated  and  decorated  for 
victories,  and  darkened  and  draped  for  defeat.  It  was 
here  that  royal  proclamations  were  read,  and  here  the 
people  met  to  protest  against  the  tyranny  of  the  royal 
governors  and  the  oppression  of  the  Crown.  The  stocks, 
the  whipping-post,  the  prison,  and  the  gallows  stood 
close  by,  and  the  sentences  pronounced  by  the  courts 
within  the  Town  House  were  executed  under  its  walls. 

In  this  building  the  pulse  of  the  people  beat,  and  it 
became  saturated  and  vibrant  with  the  spirit  of  the 
time.  Its  story  is  the  story  of  what  was  done  in  and 
about  it, — the  story  of  the  time, — and  is  best  told  in 
the  language  of  the  records  of  the  time.  No  modern 
phrases  can  bring  to  our  minds  the  conditions  of  that 
olden  time  as  effectively  as  the  quaint  and  simple  lan- 
guage of  the  records  which  were  then  written.  The 
most  important  of  these  are  the  records  of  the  select- 
men and  of  the  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  and  the  records  of  the  General  Court  and  other 
courts  of  the  Colony.  During  the  period  from  1674 
until  1711  these  are  supplemented  by  the  inimitable 
diary  of  the  New  England  Pepys,  Samuel  Sewall. 

The  process  by  which  the  people  of  Boston  and  of 
the  Colony,  having  in  the  beginning  no  written  laws 
and  no  established  rules  of  conduct  and  of  govern- 
ment, slowly  created  day  by  day  and  year  by  year,  as 
the  necessities  of  their  conditions  required,  an  orderly 

[xi] 


Introduction 

and  efficient  town  and  colony  government  is  a  most 
interesting  social  and  political  study.  For  such  a  study, 
the  story  of  the  Old  Boston  Town  House  makes  an  ex- 
cellent nucleus.  Some  of  the  details  of  its  construction 
and  uses  may  perhaps  seem  uninteresting ;  but  as  they 
have  historical  value,  they  have  been  given  place  here. 
The  location  of  the  streets  and  of  the  houses  of  the  pro- 
minent citizens,  the  market,  the  church,  the  jail,  the 
meeting-places  for  the  various  official  bodies,  the  cus- 
toms of  the  colony  in  respect  to  trade,  to  the  punish- 
ment of  crime,  to  education,  and  to  the  worship  of  God 
are  all  to  be  found  in  the  records  of  those  early  years. 


The  Story  of  the 
Old  Boston  Town  House 


"The  Puritan  can  well  afford  to  be  painted  as  he  was." 

H.  W.  Foote 


Conditions  in  Town  and  Colony  before 
the  Town  House  was  Built 

WHEN,  in  1630,  the  first  settlers  of  Boston 
came  from  Charlestown  across  the  Mystic 
River  to  the  peninsula  then  known  as  "Tri- 
mountain,"  most  of  them  settled  in  the  territory  now 
included  within  Milk,  Bromfield,  Tremont  and  Han- 
over streets  and  the  sea.  The  two  principal  streets 
were  those  now  known  as  State  Street  and  Washing- 
ton Street.  State  Street  was  called  indifferently  "the 
Water  Street,"  "the  Market  Street,"  or  "the  Great 
Street;"  it  began  at  the  sea,  at  about  the  present  lo- 
cation of  Exchange  Street,  and  ran  to  Washington 
Street,  then  called  "the  Corn-Hill,"  "the  High  Street," 
or  "the  Road  to  Roxbury."  Extending  west  from  the 
Corn-Hill,  at  the  head  of  the  Great  Street,  was  Prison 
Lane,  twelve  feet  wide,  leading  to  the  prison  where  the 
Old  Court  House  in  Court  Square  now  stands.  This  lane 
was  afterwards  widened  twenty-five  feet  and  called 
"Queen  Street,"  and  is  now  Court  Street.  At  the  south 
corner  of  Prison  Lane  and  the  Corn-Hill  was  the  house 
of  Samuel  Cole,  and  opposite  on  the  north  corner  of 
the  Lane  and  the  Corn-Hill  was  the  house  of  Thomas 
Fairweather.  On  the  south  corner  of  the  Corn-Hill  and 
the  Great  Street  was  the  house  of  Thomas  Matson,  and 
on  the  opposite  corner  were  the  house  and  land  of  the 
Rev.  John  Wilson,  pastor  of  the  First  Church. 

The  notable  spot  of  the  town  was  the  junction  of 
the  Great  Street  and  the  Corn-Hill.  The  Great  Street 
was  there  113  feet  wide,  and  continued  substantially  of 

[3] 


The  Story  of  the 

this  width  for  150  to  200  feet  easterly,  toward  the  sea. 
Within  this  large  space  was  the  market-place,  where 
agricultural  products  and  articles  of  barter  and  trade 
were  brought  and  placed  on  the  ground,  while  sellers 
and  buyers  moved  about  among  the  wares  without  shel- 
ter from  the  weather.  The  importance  of  this  market- 
place in  the  life  of  the  town  is  curiously  illustrated  by 
the  history  of  the  choice  of  location  for  the  second  meet- 
ing-house, which  was  built  in  1640.  The  first  meeting- 
house was  built  in  1632,  and  was  just  below  the  site  of 
the  market-place  on  the  south  side  of  the  Great  Street, 
nearly  on  the  spot  where  the  present  Brazer  Building 
stands.  This  structure  was  occupied  not  only  for  wor- 
ship, but  for  all  the  public  secular  business  of  the  town 
and  of  the  Colony,  until  1639;  when,  being  "decayed 
and  too  small,"  it  was  sold  and  a  new  meeting-house 
was  built  on  the  west  side  of  the  Corn-Hill,  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Rogers  Building.  This  location  was  chosen 
in  preference  to  the  one  where  the  Old  South  Meeting 
House  now  stands,  because  the  tradesmen  who  dwelt 
about  the  market-place  desired  the  meeting-house  to 
be  placed  near  the  market,  so  that  the  chief  trade  of 
the  town  should  not  be  diverted  from  it. 

The  junction  of  these  two  streets  was  the  place  where 
the  first  saw-pit  for  cutting  lumber  by  hand  was  located. 
On  October  17, 1636,  the  selectmen  ordered  that  "all 
the  timber  in  the  markett  place  shalbe  taken  away  be- 
fore the  next  meeting  day,  which  is  to  be  on  the  1  day 
of  the  next  moneth,  upon  the  forfeyture  of  such  timber 
as  shalbe  there  then  found,  and  that  noe  more  timber 
shalbe  thither  brought  upon  the  forfeyture  thereof,  and 

[4  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

the  markett  place  to  be  gotten  cleane  and  cleare  dressed 
by  that  time  by  William  Brenton  and  John  Sampford, 
upon  theire  forfeyture  of  xs.  in  default  thereof,  and 
the  sawe  pitte  gotten  filled." 

This  shows  that  the  use  of  the  market-place  for  a 
market  had  then  become  so  important  that  it  could  not 
any  longer  be  occupied  for  other  purposes,  and  its  use 
continued  to  be  thus  restricted  until  the  construction 
of  the  Town  House  in  it,  in  1658. 

It  was  about  this  market-place,  and  the  old  Town 
House,  that  the  little  Puritan  settlement  grew  to  be 
the  most  important  municipality  in  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  and  in  New  England.  The  colonists  com- 
bined in  a  characteristic  fashion  their  commercial  and 
religious  observances.  In  March,  1633-4,  the  General 
Court  "ordered  that  there  shall  be  a  market  kept  at 
Boston  upon  every  Thursday ,  the  fifth  day  of  the  week." 
This  was  the  famous  "Lecture  Day,"  on  which  vigor- 
ous week-day  instruction  supplemented  the  Sunday 
preaching.  Lechford  says:  "Upon  the  weekdays  there 
are  lectures  in  divers  towns  and  in  Boston  upon  Thurs- 
days, when  Master  Cotton  teaches  out  of  the  Revela- 
tion." 

Gathered  about  meeting-house  and  market-place 
were  the  dwellings  of  the  men  of  light  and  leading  in 
the  young  colony.  In  1645  Governor  John  Leverett 
lived  at  the  corner  of  Prison  Lane  and  the  Corn- Hill; 
Robert  Keayne  at  the  south  corner  of  the  Corn- Hill  and 
the  market-place,  in  the  Great  Street ;  the  Rev.  John 
Wilson  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  market-place  and 
the  east  side  of  the  Corn-Hill ;  and  Thomas  Buttolph 

[5] 


The  Story  of  the 

on  the  west  side  of  the  Corn-Hill,  at  the  corner  of 
Prison  Lane.  John  Cogan  had  a  house  and  shop  on  the 
north  corner  of  the  market-place  and  the  Corn-Hill ; 
John  Dunster  is  named  in  the  Book  of  Possessions 
as  the  owner  of  the  lot  on  the  site  of  the  present  Ames 
Building,  but  recent  research  shows  that  it  belonged  to 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Glover,  whose  widow  Dunster  married 
in  1641. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  laying  out  of  these  streets 
or  of  any  of  the  earliest  streets  of  Boston.  Their  boun- 
daries were  fixed  by  the  construction  of  the  rude 
dwellings  of  the  early  settlers  on  either  side,  and  were 
subsequently  confirmed  by  law.# 

The  first  houses  were  constructed  of  logs  or  of 
rough  stones,  the  crevices  stopped  with  mud,  and  had 
thatched  roofs  and  chimneys  of  sticks  plastered  with 
clay.  It  is  said  that  when  Deputy  Governor  Dudley  built 
his  house  at  Newtowne,  in  1632,  Governor  Winthrop 
reproved  him  for  his  showy  extravagance  because  he 
covered  the  walls  with  clapboards. 

Thus  closely  grouped  about  the  two  centres  of  their 
common  life,  the  market-place  and  the  meeting-house, 
and  thus  simply  housed,  the  colonists  began  to  work 
out  their  ideal  of  a  God-fearing  government.  Their 
earliest  actions  are  significant  and  worthy  the  most  care- 
ful study.  The  people  were  so  few  that  at  first  they  met 
together  in  what  they  called  "  General  Meetings,"  and 
ordered  their  affairs  by  their  general  action.  These  meet- 
ings appear  by  the  record  to  have  been  usually  warned 

*  See  Sec.  2,  Act  July  6,  1734-5,  Province  Laws,  ii.  711,  as  to  boundaries  of  an- 
cient ways  where  buildings  or  fences  had  been  maintained  against  them  for 
more  than  forty  years. 

[6] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

by  public  notice  "from  house  to  house,"  and  sometimes 
to  have  been  "privately  warned."  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, they  began  to  choose  certain  of  their  number, 
usually  nine,  "  to  manage  the  prudential  affairs  of  the 
town."  These  were  chosen  for  the  term  of  only  six 
months,  and  at  first  were  called  "Townsmen,"  then 
"Select  Townsmen,"  and  finally  simply  "Selectmen." 
This  office  was  deemed  very  important  and  was  held 
by  the  most  eminent  persons.  Governor  Winthrop  was 
for  a  long  time  not  only  governor  of  the  Colony,  but 
also  a  selectman  of  the  town. 

The  townsmen  or  selectmen  were  not  paid  for  their 
services,  but  their  food  was  provided  at  the  town  cost. 
In  1641  an  order  was  made  "that  the  Constables  shall 
Pay  unto  Robert  Turner  for  diet  for  the  Townsmen 
£2-18  sh." 

The  first  settlers  called  each  other  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, and  these  titles  were  not  only  used  in  private  inter- 
course, but  are  often  found  in  grants  of  land;  that  is, 

a  grant  would  be  made  to  "  our  Brother "  or  to  "our 

Sister ."  They  permitted  no  one  to  become  an  in- 
habitant without  the  consent  of  the  town,  and  pro- 
hibited the  entertainment  of  strangers  for  more  than 
fourteen  days  without  the  permission  of  the  selectmen. 
They  regulated  the  use  of  the  common  lands,  required 
the  fencing  of  cultivated  lands,  and  appointed  scaven- 
gers or  persons  to  keep  the  shores  and  the  waters  free 
from  impurities  and  obstructions.  One  of  their  first  pub- 
lic acts  was  to  set  up  a  whipping-post  in  the  market- 
place. As  early  as  March,  1639,  it  was  ordered  that  no- 
tices of  stray  swine  be  set  up  "on  the  Whipping  Poast." 

[7] 


The  Story  of  the 

They  permitted  no  person  to  open  a  shop  or  to  follow 
any  trade  without  permission  of  the  town  or  the  se- 
lectmen. They  established  a  free  school,  assessed  taxes 
to  be  paid  in  corn,  rye  and  wheat,  and  fixed  the  prices. 
In  1641  Indian  corn  was  valued  at  three  shillings  a 
bushel,  rye  at  three  shillings  fourpence,  and  wheat  at 
four  shillings  a  bushel. 

They  erected  fortifications  for  the  protection  of  the 
town,  regulated  the  depth  of  graves  for  the  burial  of 
the  dead,  and  forbade  the  sale  of  any  land  or  houses 
without  notice  to  the  selectmen.  They  paid  four 
pounds  a  year  for  ringing  a  bell  at  nine  o'clock  at 
night  and  half-past  four  in  the  morning,  and  in  1650 
they  set  up  a  town  clock.  They  fined  persons  ten  shil- 
lings whose  chimneys  were  permitted  to  be  on  fire 
so  as  to  flame  out  of  the  top,  prohibited  playing  foot- 
ball in  the  streets,  keeping  sheep  or  swine  upon  the 
Common,  and  provided  measures  of  brass  as  standards 
for  the  town.  They  admitted  Inhabitants,  Townsmen, 
and  Freemen;  women  were  admitted  as  Inhabitants, 
and  Townsmen  were  admitted  only  to  action  in  town 
affairs,  while  Freemen,  who  were  required  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  alone  voted  for  Deputies  to  the 
General  Court,  and  in  1658  it  was  ordered  that  "the 
times  of  meeting  for  the  Freemen  should  be  distinct 
from  the  general  townes  meetings." 

Such,  in  general,  were  the  condition  and  the  conduct 
of  town  affairs  at  the  time  the  Town  House  was  con- 
structed. In  the  same  way,  out  of  the  necessities  which 
arose  from  time  to  time,  the  colony  government  under 
the  Charter  had  grown  up.  This  government  existed 

[8] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

under  letters  patent  from  Charles  I,  granted  March  4, 
1628-9,  a  date  corresponding  to  March  15, 1628,  in  the 
computation  of  time  adopted  in  1752  as  "New  Style." 
This  grant  was  sometimes  called  "the  Patent,"  and 
sometimes  "the  Charter"  of  the  Colony.  It  constituted 
Sir  Henry  Rosewell,  Richard  Saltonstall,  John  Endi- 
cott,  and  others,  with  such  as  should  thereafter  be  ad- 
mitted and  "made  free  of  the  Company,"  "one  body 
corporate  and  politique  in  fact  and  name,  by  the  name 
of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Mattachusetts 
Bay  in  Newe  England,"  granted  to  them  the  lands  of 
New  England,  and  required  the  government  of  the 
Colony  to  be  by  a  governor,  deputy  governor,  and 
eighteen  assistants  of  the  company  to  be  chosen  out 
of  the  freemen  of  the  company. 

A  study  of  the  records  of  colonial  procedure  shows 
a  singular  mingling  of  contradictory  tendencies.  With 
the  claim  for  unrestricted  liberty,  there  was  combined 
the  most  detailed  supervision  of  personal  conduct.  A  se- 
lection of  a  few  of  the  typical  acts  of  the  colonists  will 
throw  light  on  the  character  of  the  people  who  were 
living  in  and  about  Boston  and  for  the  convenience  of 
whom  the  Town  House  was  built.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  assistants  in  the  Colony,  August,  23, 1630, 
provision  was  first  made  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
ministers,  then  a  beadle  was  provided  "to  attend  upon 
the  Governor  and  always  to  be  ready  to  execute  his 
commands  in  public  business,"  and  then  the  governor, 
deputy  governor  and  three  other  persons  were  made 
justices  of  the  peace,  to  have  the  same  power  that  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  had  in  England.  At  the  same  meeting 

[9] 


The  Story  of  the 

it  was  ordered  "that  carpenters,  joyners,  brickelayers, 
sawers  and  thatchers  shall  not  take  aboue  two  shillings 
a  day,  nor  any  man  shall  giue  more,  vnder  paine  of  ten 
shillings  to  taker  and  giuer." 

At  the  next  meeting  Boston,  Dorchester  and  Water- 
town  were  given  their  names  as  towns,  and  it  was  or- 
dered that  "no  persons  should  plant"  (settle)  in  any 
place  within  the  limits  of  the  patent  without  leave  of 
the  governor  and  assistants.  In  September,  1630,  ser- 
vants were  forbidden  to  trade  in  any  commodity ;  con- 
stables were  chosen;  a  seizure  of  "strong  water"  was 
ordered,  because  the  owner  had  sold  great  quantities 
thereof  and  produced  disorder,  drunkenness,  &c;  wages 
of  mechanics  were  still  further  regulated ;  two  persons 
were  ordered  to  be  whipped,  and  two  to  be  set  in  the 
stocks;  a  colony  tax  was  levied  upon  the  different  towns, 
and  coroners'  inquests  were  had  with  verdicts  of  juries. 
In  October,  "for  the  establishing  of  the  government," 
it  was  voted  that  the  freemen  should  choose  assistants 
and  the  assistants  should  choose  from  themselves  a 
governor  and  deputy  governor,  who  with  the  assistants 
should  have  power  of  making  laws  and  choosing  officers 
to  execute  them.  In  November  a  jury  of  twelve  was  im- 
panelled, and  Walter  Palmer  was  tried  for  manslaugh- 
ter and  acquitted;  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  was  fined  £5 
for  whipping  two  persons  without  the  presence  of  an- 
other assistant;  Bartholomew  Hill  was  adjudged  to  be 
whipped  for  stealing  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  John  Baker 
to  be  whipped  for  "shooteing  att  fowle  on  the  Sabboth 
day."  At  a  Court  in  March,  1631,  a  constable  was  fined 
for  an  attempt  to  solemnize  marriage  between  two 

[10] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

persons;  trading  money  to  the  Indians  was  prohib- 
ited; and  one  Knopp  was  fined  £5  for  "taking  upon 
him  to  cure  the  scurvy  by  water  of  no  worth,  which 
he  sold  at  a  very  dear  rate;"  one  Thomas  Foxe  was 
whipped  for  uttering  scandalous  speeches  concerning 
the  Court;  and  it  was  provided  that  whenever  the 
number  of  assistants  should  be  fewer  than  nine,  it 
should  be  lawful  for  the  major  part  of  them  to  keep  a 
court.  In  the  same  month  it  was  ordered  that  all  per- 
sons having  "cards  or  dice  or  tables  "(evidently  gaming- 
tables) in  their  houses  should  make  way  with  them 
under  pain  of  punishment;  the  restriction  upon  the 
wages  of  carpenters,  joyners,  &c,  was  removed;  and 
three  men  were  ordered  to  be  whipped  for  stealing 
pigs. 

On  May  18,1631,  at  a  Court  of  Assistants,  when  there 
were  present  only  the  governor  and  deputy  governor 
and  five  assistants,  it  was  "  Ordered  and  agreed  that 
for  time  to  come  noe  man  shalbe  admitted  to  the  free- 
dome  of  this  body  polliticke,  but  such  as  are  members 
of  some  of  the  churches  within  the  lymitts  of  the  same." 

This  fundamental  order,  made  at  a  meeting  of  only 
seven  out  of  the  eighteen  assistants  required  by  the 
charter, — the  least  number  that  could  lawfully  act, — 
put  the  Colony  government  into  the  absolute  control 
of  the  Puritan  Church.  This  Court  then  authorized  a 
ferry  to  Charlestown,  fixed  the  rates  of  ferriage,  or- 
dered standards  of  weights  and  measures,  and  forbade 
the  killing  of  wild  swine. 

In  June,  1631,  the  Court  provided  that  no  person 
should  be  hired  for  a  servant  for  less  time  than  a  year, 

[  ii  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

and  that  no  person  whatsoever  should  travel  out  of  the 
Colony,  either  by  land  or  by  sea,  without  leave  from 
the  governor,  deputy  governor,  or  some  other  assist- 
ant; ordered  a  servant  to  be  whipped  for  running  away 
from  his  master ;  ordered  Philip  Ratliffe  to  be  whipped 
and  have  his  ears  cut  off  for  scandalous  speeches  against 
the  Church ;  and  rendered  a  judgment  between  two 
parties  upon  an  agreement.  In  September,  1631,  they 
ordered  that  "sawers  shall  not  take  aboue  12d  a  scoore 
for  boards,  if  they  have  their  wood  felled  and  squared 
for  them,  and  not  aboue  7s  the  hundred,  after  5  scoore 
to  the  hundred,  if  they  fell  &  square  their  wood  them- 
selues."  In  October,  1631,  they  ordered  that  adultery 
should  be  punished  with  death ;  that  corn  should  pass 
for  payment  of  all  debts  at  the  usual  rate  it  was  sold 
for,  unless  money  or  beaver  skins  were  expressly  named; 
and  levied  a  tax  upon  the  different  towns  forthe"make- 
ing  of  a  pallysadoe  aboute  the  newe  towne." 

In  October,  1632,  they  ordered  that,  "Noe  pson 
shall  take  any  tobacco  publiquely,  vnder  paine  of 
punishm1;  also  that  euy  one  shall  pay  jd  for  euery  time 
hee  is  convicted  for  takeing  tobacco  in  any  place,  & 
that  any  Assistant  shall  haue  power  to  receave  evi- 
dence &  giue  order  for  the  levyeing  of  it,  as  also  to 
giue  order  for  the  levyeing  of  the  officers  charge." 

They  then  ordered  that  a  house  of  correction  and 
a  house  for  the  beadle  should  be  built  at  Boston;  that 
James  Woodward  should  be  whipped  for  running  away 
from  his  master,  and  that  the  town  of  Saugus  should 
have  liberty  to  build  a  "ware  upon  Saugus  Ryver." 
They  also  provided   regulations  for  the  training  of 

[18] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

troops,  and  fines  for  being  absent  from  training ;  fixed 
boundaries  between  towns;  assessed  a  colony  tax; 
granted  "Noddles  Ileland  to  Mr  Sam11  Mauacke"  upon 
the  annual  rent  of  "either  a  fatt  weather,  a  fatt  hogg, 
or  xl*  in  money ;"  and  gave  leave  to  Boston  and  Charles- 
town  to  fetch  wood  from  the  southern  part  of  the  is- 
land. 

At  a  meeting,  April  1, 1633,  they  repealed  the  regu- 
lation of  the  price  of  corn  to  six  shillings  the  bushel ; 
granted  fifty  acres  of  land  to  William  Blackstone  near 
his  house,  which  was  on  the  west  slope  of  Beacon  Hill ; 
fined  a  woman  twenty  shillings  for  breach  of  promise 
of  marriage;  punished  John  Sayles  for  stealing  corn 
and  fish,  and  bound  him  out  as  a  servant  for  three  years, 
at  £4  the  year,  to  Mr.  Coxeshall,  and  also  bound  his 
daughter  out  to  Mr.  Coxeshall  for  fourteen  years,  he 
to  have  "a  sowe  with  her,  &  att  the  end  of  her  time 
hee  is  to  giue  vnto  her  a  cowe  calfe."  They  then  for- 
bade the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  without  leave  from 
the  governor  or  deputy  governor;  provided  for  the 
keeping  up  of  fences  against  cultivated  lands ;  for  the 
inventory  and  settlement  of  the  estates  of  deceased 
persons,  and  for  the  validity  of  transfers  of  bills  of  ex- 
change. 

In  October,  1633,  they  again  provided  that  "master 
carpenters,  tylars,  bricke-layers,  mowers,"  and  other 
artificers  should  not  take  above  two  shillings  a  day,  and 
not  above  fourteen  pence  a  day  if  they  had"dyett  found 
them,"  and  also  that  all  other  inferior  workmen  of  said 
occupations  should  have  such  wages  as  the  constable  of 
the  place  and  two  other  inhabitants  chosen  by  him 

[13] 


The  Story  of  the 

should  appoint.  They  also  ordered  that  the  best  sort  of 
labourers  should  not  "take  above  18d  a  day  if  they  dyett 
themselves,"  and  not  above  eightpence  a  day  if  they 
"had  dyett  found  them,"  and  that  "master  taylours 
should  not  take  above  12d  a  day,  and  other  taylours  not 
above  8d  a  day,  if  they  be  dyeted."  And  they  finally 
ordered  that  "all  workemen  shall  worke  the  whole  day, 
alloweing  convenient  tyme  for  foode  &  rest;"  and  or- 
dered that  no  person  should  spend  his  time  idly  or  un- 
profitably  under  pain  of  such  punishment  as  the  Court 
should  think  meet  to  inflict.  But  in  November,  1633, 
they  made  an  order  reciting  that  whereas  the  wages 
of  workmen  had  been  reduced  to  a  certainty,  there- 
fore lest  workmen  should  be  wronged  by  the  excessive 
prices  of  commodities  necessary  for  their  life  and  com- 
fort, no  person  should  sell  any  provision,  clothing,  tools 
or  other  commodities  above  the  rate  of  fourpence  to 
the  shilling  more  than  the  same  cost  or  might  be  bought 
for  ready  money  in  England  except  cheese,  wine,  oil, 
vinegar  and  strong  waters,  which  might  be  sold  "at 
such  rates  (provided  the  same  be  moderate)"  as  the 
buyer  and  seller  could  agree.  They  also  provided  that 
"for  lynnen  &  other  corriodities,  wch,  in  regard  of  their 
close  stowage  &  small  hazard,  may  be  afforded  att  a 
cheap  rate,  wee  doe  advise  all  men  to  be  a  rule  to  them- 
selues,  in  keepeing  a  good  conscience,  assureing  them 
that,  if  any  man  shall  exceede  the  bounds  of  moder- 
acon,  wee  shall  punish  them  seuerely." 

Finding  that  lectures,  which  were  ordinarily  held  in 
the  forenoon,  were  "prejudicial  to  the  common  good  in 
the  loss  of  a  whole  day  &c,"  they  ordered  that  there- 

[14] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

after  no  lecture  should  begin  before  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

On  April  1, 1634,  the  Court  ordered  that  any  land  not 
improved  in  three  years  should  be  free  to  be  disposed 
of  by  the  Colony ;  that  John  Lee  should  be  whipped 
and  fined  for  calling  Mr.  Ludlowe,  one  of  the  assist- 
ants, a  "false-hearted  knave  &c.;"  provided  that  every 
person  above  the  age  of  twenty  years  who  resided  in 
the  Colony  for  six  months  and  was  not  enfranchised, 
that  is,  made  a  freeman,  should  take  the  oath  of  an 
inhabitant  in  a  form  prescribed,  or  be  banished;  and 
also  provided  for  the  survey  of  houses,  corn-fields,  and 
improved  lands,  to  be  entered  in  a  book,  the  same  to 
be  an  assurance  of  the  title  thereto. 

At  a  General  Court,  May  14,  1634,  it  was  "agreed 
and  ordered"  that  none  but  the  General  Court  hath 
power  to  choose  and  admit  freemen,  make  and  estab- 
lish laws,  elect,  appoint,  and  remove  officers,  or  "to 
rayse  monies  &  taxes,  and  to  dispose  of  lands."  At  this 
meeting  they  instituted  representative  government  by 
providing  that  the  freemen  of  each  town  might  "de- 
pute" persons  "to  deale  in  their  behalfe,  in  ye  publique 
affayres  of  the  comonwealth,  who  shall  haue  the  full 
power  &  voyces  of  all  the  said  ffreemen,deryved  to  them 
for  the  makeing  &  establishing  of  lawes,  graunting  of 
lands,  es.  &  to  deale  in  all  other  affaires  of  the  comon- 
wealth wherein  the  ffreemen  haue  to  doe,  the  matter 
of  eleccon  of  magistrates  &  other  officers  onely  ex- 
cepted, wherein  euy  freeman  is  to  gyve  his  own  voyce." 

They  also  granted  leave  to  the  inhabitants  of  Newe 
Towne  (now  Cambridge)  to  seek  out  some  convenient 

[  15] 


The  Story  of  the 

place  for  them  to  remove  their  habitations,  &c. ;  took  the 
recognizance  of  a  witness  in  a  criminal  case  in  the  sum 
of  £200,  and  fixed  a  basis  of  rates  and  public  charges, 
requiring  the  towns  to  "haue  respect  to  levy  euy  man 
according  to  his  estate,  &  with  consideracon  of  all  other 
his  abilityes,  whatsoeuer,  &  not  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  his  psons,"  thus  making  the  basis  of  taxation  the 
ability  to  pay. 

At  a  Court  held  September  3,  1634,  they  provided 
for  the  fortification  of  Castle  Island,  for  the  arming 
and  training  of  troops,  regulated  the  charges  of  keep- 
ers of  inns,  provided  that  keepers  of  inns  and  ordina- 
ries should  not  suffer  tobacco  to  be  taken  in  their 
houses,  and  that  no  person  should  take  tobacco,  pub- 
licly or  privately,  in  his  own  house  or  in  the  house 
of  another  before  strangers,  and  that  two  or  more 
should  not  take  it  together  anywhere.  They  then 
passed  the  following  order  as  to  clothing: 

The  Court,  takeing  into  consideracon  the  greate,  supfluous,  & 
vnnecessary  expences  occaconed  by  reason  of  some  newe  &  iino- 
dest  fashions,  as  also  the  ordinary  weareing  of  silver,  golde,  & 
silke  laces,  girdles,  hatbands,  ec,  hath  therefore  ordered  that  noe 
pson,  either  man  or  woman,  shall  hereafter  make  or  buy  any  ap- 
pell,  either  wollen,  silke,  or  lynnen,  with  any  lace  on  it,  siluer, 
golde,  silke,  or  threed,  vnder  the  penalty  of  forfecture  of  such 
cloathes,  ec.  / 

Also,  that  noe  pson,  either  man  or  woman,  shall  make  or  buy 
any  slashed  cloathes,  other  then  one  slashe  in  each  sleeue,  and 
another  in  the  backe;  also,  all  cuttworks,  imbroidered  or  needle 
worke  capps,  bands,  &  rayles,  are  forbidden  hereafter  to  be  made 
&  worne,  vnder  the  aforesaid  penalty;  also,  all  golde  or  silver 
girdles,  hattbands,  belts,  ruffs,  beavr  hatts,  are  prohibited  to  be 
bought  &  worne  hereafter,  vnder  the  aforesaid  penalty,  ec./... 

[16] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

provided  &  it  is  the  meaneing  of  the  Court  that  men  &  women 
shall  haue  liberty  to  weare  out  such  appell  as  they  are  nowe  pro- 
veded  of,  (except  the  imoderate  greate  sleeues,  slashed  appell,  imo- 
derate  greate  rayles,  longe  wings,  &c;)  this  order  to  take  place 
a  fortnight  after  the  publishing  thereof./ 

After  this  they  appointed  a  day  of  public  humilia- 
tion; levied  a  colony  tax  upon  the  different  towns; 
provided  for  an  entry  fee  in  actions  brought  in  the 
Court  of  Assistants ;  and  received  the  account  of  John 
Winthrop,  Governor,  of  his  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments for  public  affairs. 

At  the  General  Court  in  March,  1635,  they  ordered 
that  no  person  should  buy  or  sell  tobacco  "after  the 
last  of  September  next"  under  a  penalty  of  ten  shil- 
lings a  pound,  and  that  in  the  meantime  no  person 
should  buy  or  sell  tobacco  at  a  higher  price  than  it 
should  be  valued  at  by  the  governor  for  the  time  be- 
ing, and  two  others  whom  he  might  choose,  under  the 
same  penalty.  They  ordered  a  beacon  set  on  the  sen- 
try hill  in  Boston  to  give  notice  of  any  danger,  to  be 
in  the  ward  of  one  person,  to  be  kept  there  until  the 
last  of  September,  the  beacon  to  be  fired  upon  the  dis- 
covery of  any  danger,  and  the  alarm  given;  and  also 
ordered  that  farthings  should  not  pass  for  current  pay, 
but  that  "musket  bullets  of  a  full  boare"  should  pass 
currently  for  a  farthing,  but  that  no  man  be  compelled 
to  take  above  twelvepence  at  a  time  in  this  pay. 

At  this  Court  they  appointed  a  committee  of  mili- 
tary affairs,  giving  them,  practically,  power  to  declare 
and  enforce  martial  law,  their  power  to  continue  un- 
til the  end  of  the  next  General  Court,  and  provided 

[  H] 


The  Story  of  the 

that  the  rent  of  Governor's  Island,  which  had  been 
granted  to  John  Winthrop  at  a  rental  of  one-fifth  part 
of  the  fruit  that  should  grow  there,  should  be  (at  the 
request  of  John  Winthrop,  Esq.,)  "a  hogshead  of  the 
best  wyne  that  shall  grow  there,  to  be  paide  yearely, 
after  the  death  of  the  said  John  Winthrop,  and  noe- 
thing  before."  The  same  Court,  upon  complaint  that 
divers  persons  did  usually  absent  themselves  from 
church  meetings  upon  the  Lord's  Day,  gave  power  to 
any  two  of  the  assistants  to  hear  and  censure,  either 
by  fine  or  imprisonment,at  their  discretion,  all  misde- 
meanours of  that  kind,  provided  the  fine  should  not  ex- 
ceed five  shillings  for  one  offence ;  ordered  that  no  per- 
son should  keep  a  common  victualling-house  without 
licence;  that  merchantable  beaver  should  pass  at  ten 
shillings  the  pound,  and  that  rates  might  be  paid  in 
merchantable  corn  at  five  shillings  a  bushel. 

They  also  authorized  the  Court  of  Assistants  to  lay 
out  and  alter  highways ;  provided  for  the  construction 
of  a  bridge  over  Muddy  River;  prohibited  the  purchase 
of  the  commodities  of  any  ship  without  licence  from 
the  governor  under  penalty  of  confiscation;  and  or- 
dered that  the  "  charges  of  dyett  for  the  Governor, 
Deputy  Governor,  Assistants  and  Deputies,  during 
the  time  of  every  court,"  as  well  as  "the  dyett  of  Com- 
missioners for  martial  discipline,"  should  be  paid  out 
of  the  treasury;  and  further  ordered  that  "Att  euy 
Gefiall  Court  there  shalbe  sixe  men  appoyncted  by 
the  Gounr  for  the  tyme  being,  out  of  the  towne  where 
hee  lyves,  to  attend,  with  halberds  &  swords,  vpon  the 
pson  of  the  Gounr,  &  the  rest  of  the  members  of  the 

[18] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Court,  dureing  the  space  of  the  first  day  of  euy  Genall 
Court,  &  that  there  shalbe  two  men  appoyncted  by  the 
Gounr  to  attend,  in  like  mannr,  att  euy  pticular  Court, 
att  the  publique  charge."  And  having  ordered  two 
grand  juries  to  be  summoned,  one  in  March  and  the 
other  in  September,  and  "intreated  the  elders  and  bre- 
thren of  the  churches  to  consult  and  advise  of  one  vni- 
forme  order  of  dissipline  in  the  churches,  agreeable  to 
the  Scriptures,"  the  Court  adjourned. 

At  the  Court  in  May,  1635,  the  power  of  the  com- 
missioners of  military  affairs  was  extended ;  provision 
was  made  for  the  preparation  of  a  draft  of  laws ;  per- 
mission was  given  to  several  persons  to  transport  lim- 
ited amounts  of  corn  out  of  the  jurisdiction ;  and  it  was 
ordered  that  no  pigs  should  be  kept  for  a  longer  time 
than  a  month  between  the  last  of  July  and  the  first  of 
January ;  that  no  corn  should  be  given  to  any  swine  be- 
tween the  last  of  July  and  the  first  of  January,  except 
corn  brought  from  other  parts,  and  refuse  corn  of  the 
country ;  and  that  every  town  should  provide  standards 
of  weight  and  measure,  and  a  "meat  yard,"  all  to  be 
made  by  the  standard  at  Boston  and  sealed  by  the 
marshal.  In  August,  the  Court  of  Assistants  entertained 
and  decided  certain  complaints  against  persons  for  tak- 
ing excessive  wages,  Mr.  Cogan  witnessing  upon  oath 
that  James  Hawkins  took  two  shillings  sixpence  a  day 
from  him  for  fourteen  days.  They  also  made  an  order 
for  the  arbitration  of  a  dispute  about  two  heifers,  giv- 
ing the  arbitrators  power  to  examine  witnesses  upon 
oath;  and  allowed  the  will  of  John  Russell. 

At  a  General  Court  in  September,  1635,  it  was  or- 

[19  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

dered  that  no  dwelling  should  thereafter  be  built  above 
half  a  mile  from  the  meeting-house  in  any  new  planta- 
tion; that  it  should  be  lawful  for  magistrates — or  con- 
stables and  two  of  the  chief  inhabitants,  where  there 
was  no  magistrate — to  press  men  and  boats  at  the  pub- 
lic charge,  to  pursue  and  bring  back  any  servants  who 
should  run  from  their  masters;  and  provided  that  swine 
impounded  should  be  cried  at  the  next  two  lectures, 
and  if  they  were  not  owned  within  three  days,  should  be 
sold.  At  the  same  Court  they  provided  that  the  grand 
jury  should  "have  their  charges  of  dyett  allowed  them 
out  of  the  treasury,"  and  the  petty  jury  should  have 
three  shillings  allowed  them  for  every  trial  they  passed 
upon,  "to  be  payde  by  him  that  recouers  the  suyte;" 
passed  further  laws  regulating  the  wages  of  workmen 
and  the  prices  of  commodities ;  banished  Roger  Wil- 
liams on  account  of  his  "newe  &  dangerous  opinions;" 
and  ordered  that  none  but  freemen  should  have  any  vote 
in  any  town  in  "any  matter  of  authority  or  necessity." 

On  October  6,  1635,  the  Court  of  Assistants  fined 
a  man  for  contempt  of  court;  ordered  separate  main- 
tenance of  a  married  woman,  with  an  allowance  of 
twenty  pounds  to  be  paid  to  her  quarterly  by  her  hus- 
band, "as  also  a  bedd  with  furniture  to  it;"  and  fined 
a  man  for  selling  knives  and  a  scythe  at  a  profit  of 
above  fourpence  in  a  shilling. 

They  regulated  the  charges  of  millers  for  grinding 
corn;  provided  that  no  church  should  be  gathered  in 
the  Colony  without  the  approval  of  the  General  Court 
and  that  it  would  not  approve  thereof  without  the  ma- 
gistrates and  elders  of  the  greater  part  of  the  churches 

[20  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

also  approved  it;  and  to  make  this  order  effective 
they  provided  that  no  member  of  any  church  which 
should  thereafter  be  established  without  such  appro- 
bation should  be  admitted  to  be  a  freeman. 

They  then  established  quarterly  courts  to  be  kept 
by  the  magistrates  at  Ipswich,  Saleme,  Newe  Towne 
and  Boston,  which  courts  should  try  all  civil  cases  where 
the  debt  or  damage  should  not  exceed  ten  pounds,  and 
all  criminal  cases  "not  concerning  life,  member,  or  ban- 
ishment;" and  provided  for  an  appeal  from  any  of  these 
courts  to  the  next  General  Court,  but  said  that  all 
such  as  should  bring  "any  appeale  without  iust  cause 
should  be  exemplary ly  punished."  Then  they  provided 
for  "foure  greate  Quarter  Courts"  yearly  at  Boston 
by  the  governor  and  the  rest  of  the  magistrates,  to  be 
held  "the  first,  the  first  Tuesday  in  the  4th  moneth, 
called  June;  the  second,  the  first  Tuesday  in  Sep- 
tembr;the  third,  the  first  Tuesday  in  Decembr;  the 
fourthe,  the  first  Tuesday  in  the  1th  monethe,  called 
Marche."  They  also  provided  that  all  actions  should 
be  tried  in  the  jurisdiction  where  the  defendant  lived; 
and  provided  that  there  should  be  thereafter  only  two 
General  Courts,  one  in  May  for  elections  and  other  af- 
fairs, the  other  in  October  for  making  laws  and  other 
"public  occasions  of  the  Commonwealth;"  and  that  no 
law,  order  or  sentence  of  the  General  Court  should  be 
valid  without  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  magis- 
trates on  the  one  part,  and  of  the  majority  of  the  de- 
puties on  the  other  part,  thus,  for  the  first  time,  mak- 
ing the  representatives  of  the  people  a  check  upon  the 
power  of  the  magistrates. 

[21  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

At  the  same  Court  they  authorized  "the  ffreemen 
of  euy  towne,  or  the  major  pte  of  them,  to  dispose  of 
their  owne  lands,  &  woods,  &  make  such  orders  as  may 
concerne  the  well  ordering  of  their  owne  townes,  not 
repugnant  to  the  lawes  &  orders  here  established  by  the 
Genall  Court,"  and  also  to  choose  their  own  officers,  as 
constables,  surveyors,  &c. 

In  September,  1636,  it  was  ordered  that  towns  that 
had  above  ten  freemen  resident  therein  and  under 
twenty  might  send  one  deputy  to  the  General  Court ; 
those  having  between  twenty  and  forty  freemen,  two ; 
and  those  that  had  above  forty,  three ;  and  that  no  town 
that  had  not  ten  freemen  resident  in  it  should  send 
any  deputy  to  the  General  Court.  At  the  same  session 
they  passed  an  order  forbidding  the  use  of  lace  except 
binding  or  small  edging  laces,  under  penalty  to  the  per- 
son wearing  it  and  to  the  tailor  setting  it  upon  any  gar- 
ment ;  authorized  the  freemen  of  the  towns  to  fix  prices 
and  rates  of  wages  for  workmen,  labourers  and  ser- 
vants; and  provided  for  raising  four  hundred  pounds 
"towards  a  schole  or  colledge." 

At  the  General  Court  in  December,  1636,  they  es- 
tablished a  tariff  duty  on  imported  articles  by  an  or- 
der that  after  three  months  every  person  who  should 
buy  or  receive  any  fruit,  spice,  sugar,  wine,  strong 
water  or  tobacco,  brought  from  beyond  the  seas  with 
intent  to  retail  the  same  commodities,  should  pay  a 
duty  of  one-third  part  of  the  value  or  price  thereof, 
and  provided  for  an  officer  to  survey  all  vessels,  and 
make  search  in  all  warehouses,  for  the  discovery  of 
such  articles  and  for  the  forfeiture  thereof  if  the  duty 

[  22  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

was  not  paid.  This  order  had  the  following  peculiar 
proviso:  "Provided,  that  this  order  shall  not  extend 
to  such  wine  as  the  deacons  of  the  churches  shall  buy 
or  pcure,  bona  fide,  for  the  churches  publike  vse." 

In  March,  1637,  they  provided  that  no  persons 
should  be  appointed  captains  in  the  train  bands,  or  be 
chosen  to  any  office,  but  such  as  were  freemen,  that 
is,  church  members,  and  authorized  the  freemen  of  the 
different  towns  to  send  their  votes  for  the  election  of 
colony  officers  to  the  General  Court  by  proxy  instead 
of  coming  to  the  court  to  vote  in  person,  as  up  to  that 
time  they  had  been  required  to  do.  September  19, 1637, 
at  a  Quarter  Court  held  by  the  governor,  deputy  gov- 
ernor and  assistants  a  grand  jury  was  summoned  and 
a  man  indicted  for  murder,  who  being  tried  by  a  jury 
of  twelve,  called  in  the  record  "the  jury  of  life  and 
death,"  was  found  guilty. 

At  a  General  Court  in  November,  1637,  William 
Aspinwall,  John  Wheelwright  and  many  others  were 
convicted  of  having  signed  a  remonstrance  or  petition 
with  regard  to  the  ministry,  called  in  the  record  "the 
seditious  libell  called  a  remonstrance  or  petition,"  and 
were  disfranchised  and  banished ;  a  tax  of  a  thousand 
pounds  was  levied  for  the  payment  of  the  Colony's 
debts ;  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Watertown  were 
authorized  to  remove  and  settle  a  plantation  on  the  Con- 
cord River;  and  an  order  was  made  for  disarming  per- 
sons who  shared  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Wheelwright  and 
Mrs.  Hutchinson.  Under  this  order  fifty-eight  persons, 
many  of  them  very  prominent  freemen  of  the  Colony, 
were  disarmed. The  Court  then  prohibited  the  selling  of 

[  23  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

any  beer  or  other  drink  for  more  than  one  penny  the 
quart  at  the  most;  ordered  that  no  brewer  should  sell 
any  beer  or  other  drink  stronger  than  could  be  afforded 
at  the  rate  of  eight  shillings  the  barrel ;  provided  that 
innkeepers  should  sell  unto  their  guests  such  victuals 
as  they  should  call  for,  and  not  force  them  to  take 
more  or  other  than  they  desired,  be  it  "never  so  mean 
or  small  in  quantity;"  and  also  provided  that  it  should 
be  lawful  for  any  innkeeper  to  have  in  his  house  "some 
small  quantity  of  strong  water  for  his  own  private  and 
necessary  use."  They  then  fixed  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
pounds  for  brewing  without  licence  by  the  Court;  or- 
dered that  no  persons  should  sell  any  cakes  or  buns 
except  such  as  might  be  made  for  any  burial  or  mar- 
riage, or  such  like  special  occasion,  upon  penalty  of 
ten  shillings  fine ;  and  fixed  the  entry  fee  of  actions  at 
eighteen-pence  and  the  making  of  executions  at  two 
shillings,  and  provided  that  there  should  be  in  every 
town  "a  coppey  of  the  lawes ;"  authorized  the  town  of 
Newbury,  by  a  vote  of  the  freemen,  to  raise  sixty 
pounds  for  maintenance  of  the  ministry  by  a  tax  upon 
every  inhabitant  in  the  town;  fixed  the  marshal's  fees 
for  levying  of  executions ;  and  ordered  a  bounty  of  ten 
shillings  apiece  for  killing  wolves  and  two  shillings 
apiece  for  killing  foxes.  In  1637  a  Quarter  Court  gave 
damages  to  a  defendant  against  a  plaintiff,  who  had 
summoned  him  to  court  and  had  not  attended  to  pro- 
secute. This  was  done  in  two  cases. 

In  March,  1638,  the  General  Court  for  the  first 
time  provided  for  a  committee  to  hear  and  determine 
petitions  and  other  private  business ;  provided  for  a  re- 

[  24  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

trial  of  measures  and  weights  in  each  town ;  banished 
John  Green  for  writing  a  letter  charging  the  Court 
with  usurping  the  power  of  Christ  over  the  churches 
and  men's  consciences;  banished  Jane  Hawkins  for 
presuming  to  meddle  with  surgery  and  medicine,  and 
forbade  her  to  question  matters  of  religion  except  "with 
the  elders  for  satisfaction."  At  the  next  General  Court 
they  ordered  that  Newe  Towne  should  afterwards  be 
called  Cambridge,  and  that  every  town  should  bear  the 
charges  of  their  own  magistrates  and  deputies  to  the 
General  Court,  requiring  of  them  to  allow  three  shil- 
lings sixpence  a  day  for  a  magistrate,  and  for  a  deputy 
two  shillings  sixpence  a  day,  "for  their  dyot  &  lodg- 
ing." 

In  September,  1638,  the  General  Court  provided  for 
the  distraint  upon  and  sale  of  lands  and  goods  of  per- 
sons who  had  not  paid  their  taxes ;  established  a  court 
for  the  trial  of  small  causes  under  twenty  shillings; 
passed  an  order  reciting  that  many  of  those  who  were 
not  freemen,  or  members  of  any  church,  declined  to 
contribute  to  town  charges,  and  declared  that  every 
inhabitant  in  every  town  was  liable  to  contribute  to  all 
charges  both  in  Church  and  Commonwealth  propor- 
tionately to  his  ability,  whether  a  freeman  or  not.  They 
also  passed  another  order  against  the  taking  of  tobacco; 
and  provided  that  no  man  should  kindle  a  fire  by  gun- 
powder for  taking  tobacco,  except  in  his  journey.  Ap- 
parently these  provisions  against  the  use  of  tobacco  were 
partially,  at  least,  on  account  of  the  danger  of  fire.  They 
then  provided  that  all  persons  who  had  been  excom- 
municated from  any  of  the  churches  for  the  space  of 

[  25  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

six  months  without  labouring  to  be  restored  should  be 
punished  by  fine,  imprisonment  or  banishment. 

In  March,  1639,  the  General  Court  ordered  that 
the  college  to  be  built  at  Cambridge  should  be  called 
Harvard  College;  and  ordered  the  payment  to  Lieu- 
tenant Davenport  for  charges  disbursed  for  slaves  kept 
by  him,  which  he  was  to  pay  back  when  the  slaves  had 
earned  it.  The  slaves  referred  to  in  this  order  were  per- 
sons whom  the  courts  had  sentenced  to  be  committed 
as  slaves  in  punishment  for  offences.  Cases  of  this  kind 
will  be  found  stated  in  the  Appendix.  At  a  Quarter 
Court  held  in  June,  1639,  one  Sylvester,  "for  speaking 
against  the  law  about  hogs,  &  against  a  perticuler  ma- 
gistrate, was  fined  ten  pounds;"  Samuel  Norman  was 
sentenced  to  be  whipped  for  speaking  disrespectfully  of 
the  ministers ;  Boston  was  fined  twenty  shillings  for  de- 
fective highways;  Roxbury  was  fined  ten  shillings  for 
damming  up  a  way  from  Boston  to  Dorchester;  two 
millers  were  each  fined  three  pounds  for  taking  too 
much  toll ;  several  persons  were  fined  for  releasing  ser- 
vants before  the  expiration  of  their  time;  Hingham 
was  authorized  to  use  their  meeting-house  for  a  watch- 
house;  and  Watertown  was  fined  ten  shillings  for  not 
having  a  pair  of  stocks. 

At  a  Quarter  Court  in  September,  1639,  Daniel 
Clark,  being  found  by  a  jury  to  be  an  immoderate 
drinker,  was  fined  two  pounds,  whereof  three  shillings 
were  paid  to  the  jury,  and  the  following  order  was 
passed  against  drinking  healths: 

It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  (after  the  publication  of  this  or- 
der) no  person  of  this  iurisdiction,  nor  any  other  person  who  shall 

[26  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

hereafter  come  into  this  Jurisdiction,  (after  one  weekes  residence 
heare,)  shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  any  color  or  circumstance, 
drinke  to  any  other,  contrary  to  the  intent  of  this  order,  vpon 
paine  of  xij  d,  to  bee  forfaited  for  every  offence,  to  bee  levyed  by 
the  cunstable,  by  order  from  any  magistrate,  or  such  as  are  ap- 
pointed in  townes  to  determine  small  causes,  vpon  conviction  by 
confession  of  the  party,  or  other  sufficient  testimony  vpon  oath, 
to  bee  to  the  vse  of  the  towne,  where  the  offence  shall  bee  com- 
itted,  &  of  the  party  complaining,  by  equall  pportion.  / 

The  following  order  was  passed  with  regard  to  wear- 
ing-apparel : 

Whereas  there  is  much  complaint  of  the  excessive  wearing  of 
lace,  &  other  superfluities  tending  to  little  vse  or  benefit,  but  to 
the  nourishing  of  pride  &  exhausting  of  mens  estates,  &  also  of 
evill  example  to  others,  it  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court,  & 
decreed,  that  henceforward  no  person  whatsoever  shall  Psume  to 
buy  or  sell,  wthin  this  iurisdiction,  any  manner  of  lace,  to  bee 
worne  or  vsed  wthin  or  limits./ 

And  that  no  taylor,  or  any  other  person  whatsoever,  shall  here- 
after set  any  lace  or  points  vpon  any  garments,  either  linnen, 
wollen,  or  any  other  wearing  cloathes  whatsoever,  &  that  no  pson 
hearafter  shalbee  imployed  in  making  of  any  manner  of  lace,  but 
such  as  they  shall  sell  to  such  persons  as  shall  &  will  transport 
the  same  out  of  this  iurisdiction,  who,  in  such  case,  shall  have 
liberty  to  buy  the  same :  And  that  hearafter  no  garment  shalbee 
made  wth  short  sleeves,  whereby  the  nakedness  of  the  arme  may 
bee  discovered  in  the  wearing  thereof;  &  such  as  have  garments 
already  made  wth  short  sleeves  shall  not  hearafter  were  the  same, 
vnless  they  cover  their  armes  to  the  wrist  wth  linnen,  or  other- 
wise: and  that  hearafter  no  person  whatsoever  shall  make  any 
garment  for  weomen,  or  any  of  ther  sex,  wth  sleeves  more  then 
halfe  an  elle  wide  in  the  widest  place  thereof,  &  so  proportionable 
for  biger  or  smaller  persons./ 

The  following  order  was  passed  with  regard  to 
marriage : 

For  pventing  of  all  vnlawfull  marriages,  ec.  it  is  ordered, 

[27] 


The  Story  of  the 

that,  after  dewe  publication  of  this  order,  noe  psons  shalbee 
ioyned  in  marriage  before  the  intention  of  the  pties  pceding 
therein  hath  bene  3  times  published  at  some  time  of  publike  lec- 
ture or  towne  meeting,  in  both  the  townes  where  the  pties,  or 
either  of  them,  do  ordinarily  reside ;  &  in  such  townes  where  no 
lectures  are,  then  the  same  intention  to  bee  set  vp  in  writing, 
vpon  some  poast  standing  in  publike  viewe,  &  vsed  for  such 
papers6  onety>  &  there  to  stand,  so  as  it  may  easily  bee  read,  by 
the  space  of  14  dayes. 

And  all  townes  wch  have  no  weekly  lecture  shall  fourth wth  ap- 
point or  set  vp  a  post  in  some  publike  place,  to  bee  vsed  for  that 
purpose  onely,  vpon  paine  of  xshs  the  month  for  default  thereof./ 

At  this  Court  the  following  important  order  with 
regard  to  keeping  records  was  passed : 

Whereas  many  iudgments  have  bene  given  in  or  Courts  whereof 
no  records  are  kept  of  the  evidence  &  reasons  wherevpon  the  ver- 
dit  &  iudgment  did  passe,  the  records  whereof  being  duely  entered 
&  kept  would  bee  of  good  vse  for  president  to  posterity  &  a  re- 
leife  to  such  as  shall  have  iust  cause  to  have  their  causes  reheard 
&  reveiwed,  it  is  therefore  by  this  Court  ordered  &  decreed  that 
henceforward  every  iudgment,  wth  all  the  evidence,  bee  recorded 
in  a  booke,  to  bee  kept  to  posterity./ 

Item :  That  there  bee  records  kept  of  all  wills,  administrations, 
&  inventories,  as  also  of  the  dayes  of  every  marriage,  birth,  & 
death  of  every  pson  wthin  this  iurisdiction./ 

It:  To  record  all  mens  houses  &  lands,  being  certified  vnder  the 
hands  of  the  men  of  every  towne,  deputed  for  the  ordering  of 
their  affaires./ 

The  business  of  the  Court  of  Assistants  having  much 
increased,  it  was  ordered  that  the  assistants  residing  in 
or  near  to  Boston,  or  any  five,  four  or  three  of  them, 
the  governor  or  deputy  governor  to  be  one,  might 
meet  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  eighth,  eleventh,  second 
and  fifth  months,  and  determine  civil  causes  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty  pounds  in  amount,  and  criminal  cases 

[  28  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

not  extendingto  life,  member  or  banishment,  and  might 
summon  juries  for  that  purpose  out  of  the  neighbour- 
ing towns.  It  was  also  ordered  that  no  magistrate  or 
deputy  should  depart  from  the  General  Court  without 
the  consent  of  the  Court,  under  a  penalty  of  one  hun- 
dred pounds ;  John  Stone  and  his  wife  were  admon- 
ished "to  make  bigger  bread;"  persons  who  were  not 
innkeepers  were  authorized  to  entertain  strangers  upon 
occasion  of  great  assemblies  and  arrival  of  ships  with 
passengers ;  each  town  was  authorized  to  license  some 
person  to  sell  wine;  and  innkeepers  were  required  to 
provide  stables  and  hay  for  horses,  and  enclosures  for 
pasturing  where  there  was  need ;  but  it  was  declared 
that  if  any  should  take  excessive  prices  "they  shalbee 
deepely  fined  for  the  same." 

They  then  passed  a  general  order  for  laying  out  of 
highways  and  compensating  any  person  whose  pro- 
perty was  damaged  thereby;  prohibited  the  kindling 
of  fires  by  any  person  in  other  persons'  grounds  upon 
penalty  of  fine  or  whipping;  and  appointed  the  house 
of  Richard  Fairbanks  in  Boston  as  a  place  to  which 
letters  brought  from  beyond  the  seas,  or  to  be  sent 
beyond  the  seas,  were  to  be  brought,  he  to  take  care 
that  they  be  delivered  or  sent  according  to  their  di- 
rections, and  be  allowed  one  pence  for  each  letter,  but 
they  provided  that  no  man  should  be  compelled  to 
bring  his  letters  thither  except  he  please.  This  was  the 
first  post-office  in  the  Colony. 

At  a  Quarter  Court  in  1639  the  assistants  made 
decrees  of  nullity  of  marriage  and  of  divorce,  fined  the 
offending  party  a  hundred  pounds  and  to  be  set  in  the 

[  29] 


The  Story  of  the 

stocks  for  an  hour  on  a  market  day  after  the  lecture, 
saying,  "the  next  lecture  day  if  the  weather  pmit,  or 
else  the  next  lecture  day  after."  In  May,  1640,  the  Gen- 
eral Court  repealed  the  order  as  to  the  time  of  begin- 
ning the  lectures,  and  left  the  same  to  the  discretion 
of  the  churches.  Then  they  passed  an  order  reciting 
the  absolute  necessity  "for  the  raising  of  the  manifac- 
ture  of  linnen  cloth,  &c.,"  and  required  the  magistrates 
and  deputies  of  the  several  towns  to  make  inquiry 
"what  men  &  weomen  are  skilfull  in  the  braking,  spin- 
ing,  weaving,  what  meanes  for  the  pviding  of  wheeles, 
&  to  consider  wth  those  skilfull  in  that  manifacture  what 
course  may  bee  taken  to  raise  the  materials  &  pduce  the 
manifacture,  &  what  course  may  bee  taken  for  teaching 
the  boyes  &  girles  in  all  townes  the  spiiiing  of  the 
yarne,"  and  then  added  that  "the  like  consideration 
would  bee  had  for  the  spiiiing  &  weaveing  of  cotton 
woole." 

At  the  next  session  it  was  ordered,  for  the  encour- 
agement of  the  manufacture  of  linen,  woollen  and  cot- 
ton cloth,  that  whosoever  should  make  any  sort  of  the 
said  clothes  fit  for  use,  and  show  them  to  the  next 
magistrate  or  to  two  of  the  deputies,  upon  certificate 
thereof  to  the  Court,  should  have  an  allowance  of  three- 
pence in  the  shilling  of  the  worth  of  the  cloth.  It  was 
also  recited  that  there  was  "a  great  stop  in  trade  and 
commerce"  for  want  of  money,  and  therefore  it  was  pro- 
vided that  no  man  should  be  compelled  to  satisfy  any 
debt,  &c,  in  money,  but  satisfaction  should  be  accepted 
in  corn,  cattle,  fish  or  other  commodities  at  such  rates 
as  the  courts  should  set  down  from  time  to  time,  or  in 

[30  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

default  thereof  should  be  fixed  by  indifferent  men  to 
be  appointed.  But  they  carefully  provided  that  this 
order  should  not  extend  to  debts  or  other  payment 
due  or  arising  upon  any  contract  or  other  original 
cause  previously  existing. 

They  then  fixed  a  bounty  of  forty  shillings  upon 
a  wolf  killed  by  hounds,  and  ten  shillings  upon  a  wolf 
killed  with  a  trap,  or  shot ;  and  then  they  made  an  or- 
der which  is  quite  significant,  as  showing  that  there  was 
even  then  a  tendency  to  overmuch  talk  in  the  legisla- 
ture, that  "no  man  in  the  Generall  Courts  shall  speake 
above  three  times  to  any  cause  without  leave  from  the 
Governor  or  Court  upon  paine  of  12d  a  time."  Then 
they  granted  the  ferry  between  Boston  and  Charles- 
town  "to  the  colledge,"  and  ordered  that  thereafter 
no  mortgage  or  grant  of  any  houses,  lands,  rents  or 
other  hereditaments  should  be  enforced  against  any 
person  except  the  grantor  and  his  heirs,  unless  the  same 
was  recorded;  appointed  a  recorder  for  Ipswich  and 
for  Salem,  and  for  all  other  records  the  recorder  at  Bos- 
ton. But  they  provided  that  the  whole  bargain,  sale,  &c., 
need  not  be  entered,  but  only  the  name  of  the  grantor 
and  grantee,  the  thing  and  the  estate  granted,  and  the 
date,  and  made  the  fee  for  every  such  record  sixpence. 

In  May,  1641,  they  established  four  Quarter  Courts, 
to  be  kept  each  year  by  the  magistrates  of  Ipswich  and 
Salem,  to  have  the  same  power  both  of  civil  and  cri- 
minal cases  that  the  Court  of  Assistants  had  at  Bos- 
ton, except  trials  for  life,  limb  or  banishment,  which 
were  wholly  left  to  the  Boston  Court ;  and  provided 
for  an  appeal  from  any  of  these  courts  to  the  Boston 

[31   ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Court,  and  also  that  actions  of  above  a  hundred  pounds 
in  amount  might  be  tried  at  any  of  these  courts,  or  at 
the  Boston  Court,  as  the  plaintiff  might  elect.  They 
also  passed  an  order  reciting  the  scarcity  of  money, 
the  great  abatement  in  prices  of  corn,  cattle  and  other 
commodities,  and  declared  that  all  servants,  labourers 
and  workmen  should  be  content  to  abate  their  wages 
according  to  the  fall  of  the  commodities  wherein  their 
labours  were  bestowed,  and  that  they  should  "be  con- 
tent to  partake  now  in  the  present  scarcity,  as  well  as 
they  have  had  their  advantage  by  the  plenty  of  former 
times."  They  then  passed  an  order  granting  a  monopoly 
to  such  persons  as  should  discover  mines;  desired  the 
elders  to  make  a  catechism  for  the  instruction  of  the 
youth  in  the  grounds  of  religion ;  again  banished  Jane 
Hawkins ;  granted  a  monopoly  of  making  salt  to  one 
Winslow;  and  further  regulated  the  election  of  ma- 
gistrates by  the  freemen. 

In  June,  1641,  the  General  Court,  reciting  the  want 
of  clothing  which  was  likely  to  exist  in  the  Colony 
during  the  next  winter,  ordered  that  notice  be  given 
of  a  certain  kind  of  wild  hemp  which  it  was  thought 
might  be  gathered  for  the  making  of  cloth,  and  par- 
ticularly ordered  that  all  children  and  servants  should 
be  industriously  employed  "so  as  the  mornings  & 
evenings  &  other  seasons  may  not  bee  lost,  as  formerly 
they  have  bene;  (&  if  it  bee  so  continued  will  certeinly 
bring  us  to  povrty;)  but  that  the  honest  &  pfitable 
custome  of  England  may  bee  practised  amongst  us,  so 
as  all  hands  may  bee  implied  for  the  working  out  of 
hemp  &  fflaxe,  &  other  needfull  things  for  cloathing, 

[  32  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

wthout  abridging  any  such  servants  of  their  dewe 
times  for  foode  &  rest,  or  other  needful  refreshings." 
They  then  granted  a  monopoly  to  certain  persons 
named  for  the  trade  with  the  Indians  in  furs;  and  re- 
pealed the  order  against  selling  strong  water  to  the  In- 
dians so  far  as  these  persons  were  concerned,  the  mo- 
nopoly to  continue  for  three  years.  In  December,  1641, 
they  provided  for  an  armory  "in  some  part  of  Boston 
meeting  house,"  and  an  inventory  of  the  arms;  estab- 
lished the  form  of  the  recorder's  oath;  condemned 
William  Hatchet  to  be  hanged ;  provided  for  nineteen 
copies  of  the  laws,  liberties  and  forms  of  oaths  to  be 
authenticated  by  three  of  the  deputies,  and  ten  shil- 
lings apiece  to  be  paid  for  each  copy  by  the  constable 
of  each  town. 

In  1642  the  General  Court  provided  that  a  plain- 
tiff who  should  not  prevail  in  his  action  should  bear 
all  the  charges  of  the  Court  occasioned  thereby,  and 
that  he  might  further  be  fined  if  the  merit  of  the  cause 
should  so  require,  and  also  provided  that  if  the  de- 
fendant was  in  fault  he  should  pay  the  charges.  After 
this  they  appear  to  have  required  security  for  costs  by 
parties  bringing  actions.  The  selectmen  of  towns  were 
given  power  to  lay  out  ways  in  their  own  towns  upon 
due  recompense  to  be  given  to  any  person  damaged 
thereby.  The  neglect  of  parents  to  cause  their  children 
to  be  taught  to  read  and  understand  the  principles  of 
religion,  &c,  and  to  be  industrious  was  again  recited, 
and  it  was  specially  provided  that  children  "who  are 
sett  to  keep  cattle  be  set  to  some  other  imploym*  wthall, 
as  spinning  upon  the  rock,  knitting,  weaving  tape,  &c. 

[  33  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

&  that  boyes  &  girles  be  not  suffered  to  converse  to- 
gether." Then  they  provided  that  they  would  not  pro- 
ceed to  judgment  in  any  cause,  criminal  or  civil,  with- 
out taking  an  oath  to  deal  uprightly  and  justly  therein, 
according  to  their  judgment  and  conscience,  which 
was  the  first  requirement  of  an  official  oath  in  judicial 
proceedings  in  the  Colony. 

They  then  provided  for  a  record  of  births,  marriages 
and  deaths,  including  in  their  order  a  provision  for 
finding  out  in  the  several  towns  who  had  been  born  and 
who  had  died  since  the  first  founding  of  their  towns, 
and  the  recording  thereof.  At  this  General  Court  it  was 
provided  that  all  causes  between  parties  should  first  be 
tried  in  some  inferior  court,  and  if  the  defeated  party 
should  have  any  new  evidence  or  new  matter  he  might 
have  a  new  trial  in  the  same  court  upon  an  appeal  or 
review,  and  if  justice  was  not  done  him  upon  that  trial 
he  might  then  come  to  the  General  Court  for  relief. 
At  this  same  Court  they  provided  that  a  jury  might 
find  the  matter  of  fact  in  all  trials  between  parties,  and 
that  "the  judges  are  to  declare  the  sentence  of  the 
lawe  upon  it,  or  they  may  direct  the  iury  to  find  ac- 
cording to  the  lawe;"  and  also  provided  that  if  there 
were  any  matter  of  apparent  equity,  as  upon  the  for- 
feiture of  an  obligation,  &c,  without  damage,  the  judges 
should  determine  such  matter  of  equity.  This  is  appar- 
ently the  first  exercise  of  equity  jurisdiction  in  the 
Colony. 

They  then  took  special  action  with  regard  to  pro- 
tection against  the  attacks  of  Indians,  making  provision 
for  alarms,  calling  out  the  men  in  the  different  towns, 

[  34  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

and  specifically  providing  that  "every  towne  pvide  a 
sufficient  place  for  retreat  for  their  wives  &  children 
to  repaire  to,  as  likewise  to  keepe  safe  the  amunition 
thereof." 

At  the  same  Court  they  established  the  government 
and  direction  of  Harvard  College;  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  treat  with  commissioners  from  the  other  col- 
onies about  a  union  to  avoid  danger  from  the  Indians, 
&c.,  but  carefully  provided  that  they  should  not  enter 
into  any  offensive  war  without  order  of  the  Court ;  and 
passed  an  order  preventing  the  sale  of  "insufficient" 
leather.  They  also  made  an  order  appointing  arms  to  be 
brought  to  the  meeting-houses  on  the  Lord's  Days  and 
at  other  times  of  meeting  providing  that  ammunition 
be  safely  disposed  of,  so  "that  an  enemy  may  not  pos- 
sess himself  of  it ;"  and  passed  another  order  reciting 
that,  for  "the  preventing  of  occasions  of  partial  and 
undue  proceedings  in  Courts  of  justice,  and  avoiding 
of  jealousies"  in  civil  causes  when  there  should  be  so 
near  relation  between  any  judge  and  any  of  the  parties 
as  between  father  and  son,  brother  and  brother,  uncle 
and  nephew  (landlord  and  tenant,  in  matters  of  consid- 
erable value),  the  judge,  though  he  might  have  liberty 
to  be  present  in  the  court  at  the  time  of  the  trial  and 
give  reasonable  advice  in  the  case,  yet  should  have  no 
power  to  vote  or  give  sentence  therein,  neither  should 
sit  as  a  judge  "but  beneath  the  bench  when  hee  shall 
so  pleade  or  give  advice  in  the  case." 

In  this  year  they  declared  Samuel  Gorton,  upon 
consideration  of  his  writings,  &c,  "to  bee  a  blasphemos 
enemy  of  the  true  religion  of  or  Lord  Jesus  Christ  & 

[35] 


The  Story  of  the 

his  holy  ordinances,  &  also  of  all  civill  authority  among 
the  people  of  God,  &  perticulerly  in  this  iurisdiction," 
and  ordered  that  he  be  confined  to  Charlestown,  "there 
to  bee  set  on  worke,  &  to  weare  such  boults  or  irons 
as  may  hindr  his  escape,  &  to  continue  dureing  the 
pleasure  of  the  Cort." 

In  March,  1644,  the  sittings  of  the  Deputies  and  of 
the  Magistrates  were  separated  by  the  following  order : 

Forasmuch  as,  after  long  experience,  wee  find  divers  incon- 
veniences in  the  mannr  of  or  pceding  in  Corts  by  matrats  &  depu- 
ties siting  together,  &  accounting  it  wisdome  to  follow  the  laud- 
able practice  of  other  states  who  have  layd  groundworks  for  gov- 
ernment &  order  in  the  issuing  of  busines  of  greatest  &  highest 
consequence,  — 

It  is  therefore  ordered,  first,  that  the  magistrates  may  sit  & 
act  busines  by  themselues,  by  drawing  up  bills  &  orders  wch  they 
shall  see  good  in  their  wisdome,  wch  haveing  agreed  upon,  they 
may  psent  them  to  the  deputies  to  bee  considered  of,  how  good 
&  wholesome  such  orders  are  for  the  country,  &  accordingly  to 
give  their  assent  or  dissent,  the  deputies  in  like  mannr  siting  a 
pt  by  themselues,  &  consulting  about  such  orders  &  lawes  as  they 
in  their  discretion  &  expience  shall  find  meet  for  comon  good, 
wch  agreed  upon  by  them,  they  may  psent  to  the  magistrats, 
who,  according  to  their  wisdome,  haveing  seriously  considered  of 
them,  may  consent  unto  them  or  disalow  them;  &  when  any  or- 
ders have  passed  the  appbation/  of  both  matrats  &  deputies,  then 
such  orders  to  bee  ingrossed,  &  in  the  last  day  of  the  Court  to 
bee  read  deliberately,  &  full  assent  to  bee  given ;  pvided,  also,  that 
all  mattrs  of  iudicature  wch  this  Cort  shall  take  cognisance  of 
shalbee  issued  in  like  manner. 

In  1644  Thomas  Dudley  was  commissioned  as  ser- 
geant major-general,  by  a  commission  of  great  length, 
giving  him  extraordinary  powers,  but  requiring  him  at 
all  times  to  observe  such  orders,  instruction,  messages 

[36] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

and  directions  as  should  be  directed  to  him  "from  the 
Genrall  Cort  in  the  time  of  its  being,  &  at  all  other  times 
from  the  councell  of  the  comon  wealth," — a  commis- 
sion not  well  calculated  for  efficiency  of  military  action. 

At  the  same  session  they  required  any  foreigner  who 
might  bring  suit  against  a  settled  inhabitant  to  give 
security  for  costs  in  advance ;  and  also  provided  for  the 
attachment  of  goods  and  chattels  or  of  lands,  by  notice 
given  to  the  party,  or  left  in  writing  at  his  place  of 
usual  abode,  and  further  provided  that  if  the  defendant 
was  out  of  the  jurisdiction  the  cause  might  be  tried, 
but  judgment  not  entered  before  the  next  court,  and 
that  execution  should  not  issue  before  the  plaintiff  gave 
security  to  be  responsible  to  the  defendant  if  he  should 
reverse  the  judgment  in  one  year,  or  such  further  time 
as  the  Court  should  limit. 

In  this  year  the  Anabaptist  controversy  arose,  when 

the  Court  passed  the  following  order: 

Forasmuch  as  experience  hath  plentifully  &  often  pved  yl 
since  ye  first  arising  of  ye  Anabaptists,  about  a  hundred  years 
since,  they  have  bene  ye  incendiaries  of  comon  wealths,  &  ye  in- 
fectors  of  persons  in  maine  mattrs  of  religion,  &  ye  troublers  of 
churches  in  all  places  where  they  have  bene,  &  y*  they  who  have 
held  ye  baptizing  of  infants  unlawfull  have  usually  held  othr  errors 
or  heresies  togethr  therewith,  though  they  have  (as  othr  here- 
ticks  use  to  do)  concealed  ye  same,  till  they  spied  out  a  fit  ad- 
vantage &  oportunity  to  vent  ym,  by  way  of  question  or  scruple, 
&  whereas  divers  of  this  kind  have,  since  or  comeg  into  New  Eng- 
land, appeared  amongst  orselues,  some  whereof  have  (as  othrs  be- 
fore ym)  denied  ye  ordinance  of  magistracy,  &  ye  lawfulness  of 
making  warr,  &  othrs  ye  lawfulnes  of  matrats,  and  their  inspection 
into  any  breach  of  ye  first  table,  wch  opinions,  if  they  should  be 
connived  at  by  us,  are  like  to  be  increased  amongst  us,  &  so  must 

[87  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

necessarily  bring  guilt  upon  us,  infection  &  trouble  to  ye  churches, 
&  hazard  to  ye  whole  comon  wealth, — 

It  is  ordered  &  agreed,  yl  if  any  pson  or  psons  wthin  ye  iuris- 
diction  shall  eithr  openly  condemne  or  oppose  ye  baptizg  of  in- 
fants, or  go  about  secretly  to  seduce  othrs  from  ye  appbation  or 
use  thereof,  or  shall  purposely  depart  ye  congregation  at  ye  ad- 
ministration of  ye  ordinance,  or  shall  deny  ye  ordinance  of  magis- 
tracy, or  their  lawfull  right  or  authority  to  make  warr,  or  to 
punish  ye  outward  breaches  of  ye  first  table,  &  shall  appear  to  ye 
Cort  wilfully  &  obstinately  to  continue  therein  after  due  time  & 
meanes  of  conviction,  every  such  pson  or  psons  shalbe  sentenced 
to  banishm*. 

At  the  same  session  they  appointed  a  notary  pub- 
lic ;  and  commended  to  the  several  towns  the  giving  by 
every  family  of  one  peck  of  corn  or  twelvepence  in 
money,  or  other  commodity,  for  the  college  at  Cam- 
bridge ;  made  a  decree  of  nullity  of  marriage ;  remitted 
the  rent  of  the  ferry  from  Boston  to  Winnetsemett, 
upon  condition  that  the  ferryman  in  lieu  of  rent  should 
carry  all  the  magistrates  and  deputies  free,  with  their 
necessary  attendants,  and  fixed  the  charge  at  the  Wejr- 
mouth  ferry  at  twopence  for  every  person's  passage. 

In  November,  1644,  they  propounded  to  the  Rev- 
erend Elders  certain  questions,  and  received  their  an- 
swers at  great  length,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  govern- 
ment under  the  patent, — whether  the  governor  and 
assistants  had  power  to  dispense  justice  without  some 
law  or  order  of  the  General  Court ;  whether  the  gov- 
ernment was  a  pure  aristocracy,  or  mixed  with  a  demo- 
cracy, &c, — all  of  which  answers  were  duly  recorded, 
and  such  as  were  put  to  vote  were  approved  to  be  just 
and  true  answers. 

At  the  General  Court,  in  May,  1645,  it  was  ordered 

[  38  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

that  all  youth  from  ten  to  sixteen  years  of  age  should 
be  instructed  by  some  experienced  soldier  upon  train- 
ing days  in  the  exercise  of  arms  and  bows  and  arrows, 
provided  no  child  should  be  taken  to  such  exercise 
"against  his  parents'  minds." 

An  order  was  then  passed  against  the  keeping  of 
inns  without  a  licence,  regulating  the  prices  of  wines, 
beer,  &c,  forbidding  innkeepers  to  suffer  any  person 
"to  be  drunke  or  drinke  excessively,  or  continue  tip- 
ling  above  ye  space  of  halfe  an  hour,"  and  fining  every 
person  found  drunk  ten  shillings;  three  shillings  and 
fourpence  for  excessive  drinking;  for  sitting  idle  and 
drinking  above  half  an  hour  two  shillings  sixpence; 
and  declaring  it  to  be  excessive  drinking  of  wine  when 
above  half  a  pint  of  wine  was  allowed  to  one  person, 
and  that  no  labourer  or  workman  whatsoever  should 
be  "inforced  or  psed  to  take  wine  in  pay  for  his 
labor." 

Then,  turning  to  other  matters,  they  provided  for  the 
placing  of  John  Eales  in  some  place  where  he  might 
carry  on  his  trade  of  beehive-making,  the  town  to 
make  up  what  was  wanting  to  defray  the  expense  of 
his  livelihood ;  and  passed  an  important  order  requir- 
ing that  the  charges  for  "the  dyet  of  the  Court"  should 
be  satisfied  by  the  several  towns  according  to  their 
equal  proportions.  They  then  provided  that  assistants 
should  have  five  hundred  pounds  estate  allowed  to  each 
of  them,  rate  free  from  town  and  country  levies,  for 
the  space  of  three  years,  in  consideration  of  the  many 
public  employments  to  which  they  were  called.  They 
also  passed  a  further  order  as  to  the  bounties  upon 

[39] 


The  Story  of  the 

wolves ;  an  order  about  a  monopoly  of  iron  works ;  and 
the  following  act  against  lying : 

Whereas  Trueth  in  Words,  as  well  as  in  actions,  is  required  of 
all  men,  Especially  of  Christians,  who  are  the  -professed  Servants 
of  the  God  of  Trueth;  And  whereas  all  Lying  is  contrary  to  truth, 
and  some  sort  of  lyes  are  not  onely  sinfull  (as  all  lyes  are)  but  also 
pernicious  to  the  Publick  weal,  and  injurious  to  partiadar  persons ; 
It  is  therefore  Ordered  by  this  Court  and  Authority  thereof,  That 
every  person  of  the  age  of  discretion  (which  is  accounted  fourteen 
yeares)  who  shall  wittingly  and  willingly  make,  or  publish  any 
lye,  which  may  be  pernicious  to  the  publick  weal,  or  tending  to 
the  damage  or  injury  of  any  particular  perso,  or  with  intent  to 
deceive  and  abuse  the  people,  with  false  newes  and  reports,  and 
the  same  duely  prooved  in  any  Court  or  before  any  one  Magis- 
trate (who  hath  hereby  power  granted  to  hear  and  determine  all 
Offences  against  this  law)  such  person  shall  be  fined  for  the  first 
Offence  ten  shillings,  or  if  the  party  be  unable  to  pay  the  same, 
then  to  be  set  in  the  stocks  so  long  as  the  said  Court  or  Magistrate 
shall  appoint,  in  some  open  place  not  exceeding  two  houres.  For 
the  second  Offence  in  that  kind,  whereof  any  shall  be  Legally 
convicted,  the  sum  of  twenty  shillings  or  be  whipped  upon  the 
naked  body  not  exceeding  ten  stripes.  And  for  the  third  Offence 
forty  shillings,  or  if  the  party  be  unable  to  pay,  then  to  be 
whipped  with  more  stripes,  not  exceeding  fifteen.  And  if  yet  any 
shall  offend  in  like  kind  and  be  Legally  convicted  thereof,  such 
person,  male  or  female,  shall  be  fined  ten  shillings  a  time  more 
then  formerly,  or  if  the  party  so  offending  be  unable  to  pay,  then 
to  be  whipt  with  five  or  six  more  stripes  then  formerly,  not  ex- 
ceeding fourty  at  any  time.  The  aforesaid  fines  shall  be  levyed  or 
stripes  inflicted  either  by  the  Marshall  of  that  Jurisdiction,  or 
Constable  of  the  town,  where  the  Offence  is  Committed  according 
as  the  Court  or  Magistrate  shall  direct.  And  such  fines  so  levyed 
shall  be  payd  to  the  Treasury  of  the  shire  where  the  cause  is  tryed. 
And  if  any  person  shall  find  himselfe  greived  with  the  sentence 
of  any  such  Magistrate  out  of  Court,  he  may  appeale  to  the  next 
Court  of  the  same  Shire,  giving  sufficient  security  to  prosecute 
his  appeale,  and  abide  the  Order  of  the  Court,  and  if  the  said 

[40] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Court  shall  judg  his  appeal  causless  he  shall  be  double  fined,  and 
pay  the  charges  of  the  Court,  during  his  action,  or  Corrected  by 
whipping  as  aforesayd,  not  exceeding  forty  stripes,  &  pay  the 
costs  of  the  Court,  and  party  complaining  or  informing  and  of 
the  witnesses  in  the  case.  And  for  all  such  as  being  under  age  of 
discretion  that  shall  offend  in  Lying  contrary  to  this  Order,  their 
parents  or  masters  shall  give  them  due  Correction  &  that  in  the 
presence  of  some  Officer  if  any  Magistrate  shall  so  appoint,  Pro- 
vided allwaies,  that  no  person  shall  be  barred  of  his  just  action 
of  slaunder,  or  otherwise,  by  any  proceeding  upon  this  Order. 

They  then  passed  an  order  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  raising  of  sheep  for  making  woollen  cloth;  pro- 
vided further  for  the  levying  and  collection  of  duties 
upon  wines  brought  into  the  Colony;  appointed  com- 
missioners for  the  United  Colonies;  appointed  com- 
mittees of  persons  from  each  county  to  prepare  a  code 
of  laws ;  provided  for  the  establishment  of  military  com- 
panies in  various  towns,  giving  them  authority  to  make 
orders  for  the  managing  of  their  military  affairs,  and 
the  right  to  assemble  themselves  for  military  exercises ; 
levied  a  colony  tax  of  £616.15,  to  be  paid  in  cattle  and 
commodities,  the  prices  of  which  were  fixed  in  the 
levy;  and  then  "Upon  weighty  reasons  moveing"  they 
ordered  that  "Mrs.  Chamberlin,  widowe,  sister  to  Mr 
Israeli  Stoughton  (lately  a  worthy  member  of  ye  comon 
weale),  shalbe  alowed  out  of  Mr  Androws  gift  eithr  a 
cowe  or  five  pounds."  Then  being  informed  that  there 
was  no  drum  within  the  town  of  Salem,  by  reason  of 
which  the  inhabitants  had  no  way  of  giving  warning 
upon  the  approach  of  an  enemy,  they  ordered  "y*  ye 
said  towne  of  Salem  shall  pvide  two  good  drums  to  be 
always  ready  upon  occasion  for  ye  towne  &  band,  to  be 

[41  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

pcured  wthin  three  weekes,  upon  ye  poenalty  of  five 
pound."  May,  1645,  they  ordered  a  military  watch  in  all 
towns,  and  provided  the  form  of  the  charge  which  was 
to  be  given  to  them  when  the  watch  was  set;  and  re- 
pealed the  order  against  drinking  healths  one  to  another. 

They  prohibited  the  settlement  or  entertainment  in 
any  town  of  all  persons  who  were  not  admitted  by  vote 
of  the  inhabitants.  At  one  time  no  person  could  pass 
out  of  Boston  after  sunset  on  Saturday  night  except 
upon  giving  "such  good  account  of  the  necessity  of  his 
business"  as  might  be  "to  the  satisfaction"  of  the  per- 
sons who  kept  the  ward  or  watch ;  and  no  cart  could  pass 
out  upon  "any  pretence  whatever."  They  prohibited  or- 
dinary amusements,  decorative  dress  and  ornaments  of 
the  person,  the  wearing  of  long  hair  or  of  wigs  by  men, 
and  the  curling  of  their  own  hair  by  women.  They  pun- 
ished swearing  and  lying  with  the  lash,  and  blasphemy 
and  adultery  with  death.  They  persecuted  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England,  made  the  observance  of 
Christmas  a  crime,  whipped  and  banished  Quakers,  and 
punished  heresy  with  death.  They  fixed  the  prices  of 
commodities  and  the  wages  of  labour,  and  regulated 
the  expense  of  living  and  the  character  of  clothing,  by 
arbitrary  edicts.  Their  laws  were  enforced  by  fines,  im- 
prisonment, whipping,  mutilation  of  the  person,  brand- 
ing with  hot  irons,  banishment  and  death. 

As  we  read  the  records  of  their  courts  we  are 
amazed  at  the  character  of  the  crimes  committed  and 
of  the  punishments  inflicted.  In  their  penalties  they 
did  not  respect  sex  or  age.  Women  were  put  in  the 
stocks,  compelled  to  stand  in  the  pillory  with  cleft 

[42] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

sticks  on  their  tongues,  whipped,  banished  and  hanged, 
and  even  girls  were  publicly  whipped.  Their  general  law 
provided  that  whenever  a  person  was  committed  to  the 
house  of  correction  he  should  be  at  once  whipped  and 
then  kept  on  low  diet  and  at  hard  labour.  A  partial 
transcript  of  sentences  of  this  character  made  from  the 
imperfect  court  records  now  remaining  will  be  found  as 
an  appendix.  Amongthemthe  following  are  illustrative : 

Dan :  Fairefeild  was  sentenced  to  be  severely  whipped 
at  Boston  on  a  lecture  day,  "have  one  of  his  nostrills 
slit  so  high  as  well  may  be,  &  then  to  bee  seared,  &  kept 
in  prison,  till  hee  bee  fit  to  bee  sent  to  Salem,  &  then 
to  bee  whiped  againe,  &  have  the  other  nostrill  slit 
&  seared."  Also  "to  weare  an  hempen  roape  about  his 
neck,  the  end  of  it  hanging  out  two  foote  at  least,"  and 
if  found  without  it  to  be  whipped. 

Philip  Ratliffe,  for  uttering  malicious  and  scandalous 
speeches  against  the  government  and  the  Church  at 
Salem,  was  sentenced  to  be  whipped,  have  his  ears 
cut  off,  fined  and  banished;  and  Katherine  Finch,  "for 
speaking  against  the  magistrates,  churches  and  elders, 
was  censured  to  be  whipped  and  committed  till  the 
General  Court." 

John  Kempe,  for  immorality,  was  censured  to  be 
whipped  at  Boston,  Roxbury  and  Salem  and  commit- 
ted for  a  slave;  and  James  Luxford  was  sentenced, 
"for  his  forgery,  lying  &  other  foule  offences,"  "to  bee 
bound  to  the  whiping  poast,  till  the  lecture  from  the 
first  bell,  &  after  the  lecture  to  have  his  eares  cut  of;  & 
so  hee  had  liberty  to  depart  out  of  or  iurisdiction." 

Rebeckah  Rogers  was  sentenced  to  be  "severely 

[43] 


The  Story  of  the 

whipped  with  thirty  stripes  on  a  lecture  day  next  after 
the  lecture ; "  and  Maurice  Brett,  for  contemptuous  car- 
riage towards  the  Court,  was  sentenced  to  stand  in  the 
pillory  with  his  ear  nailed  to  the  pillory,  and  after  an 
hour's  standing  to  have  his  ear  cut  off,  and  to  pay 
twenty  shillings  for  his  swearing,  or  be  whipped  with 
ten  stripes. 

Elisabeth  Broune  was  sentenced  to  stand  an  hour 
upon  the  gallows,  and  to  be  tied  to  a  cart's  tail  and  be 
severely  whipped,  not  exceeding  thirty-nine  stripes,  to 
the  prison,  and  on  the  next  lecture  day  at  Charlestown 
to  be  carried  over  and  there  alike  severely  whipped 
with  thirty  stripes.  Darby  Ryan  was  sentenced  to  be 
tied  to  a  cart's  tail,  "stripped  from  the  girdle  upward 
and  on  his  naked  body  to  be  whipped  with  thirty-nine 
stripes  well  laid  on"  presently  after  the  lecture,  in  Bos- 
ton. Elinor  May  was  sentenced  to  be  tied  to  a  cart's 
tail  and  "  whipped  upon  her  naked  body  from  the  prison 
to  the  place  of  her  abode,  not  exceeding  thirty-nine 
stripes  well  and  severely  laid  on;"  a  Frenchman,  for 
the  offence  of  clipping  money,  was  sentenced  to  stand 
two  hours  upon  the  pillory  and  then  have  both  ears 
cut  off  by  the  executioner;  and  Mary  Knights  was 
fastened  to  a  cart's  tail,  and  severely  whipped  on 
her  naked  back  to  the  prison.  Joseph  Gatchell,  for 
blasphemy,  was  sentenced  "to  be  placed  in  the  pillory 
to  have  his  head  &  hand  put  in  &  haue  his  toung  drawne 
forth  out  of  his  mouth  &;  peirct  through  wth  a  hott  Iron 
&;  then  to  be  returnd  to  the  prison  there  to  Remajne 
vntill  he  sattisfy  &;  pay  all  ye  charges  of  his  try  all  & 
ffees  of  Court  .  .  .  The  marshall  Genril  taking  neces- 

[  44  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

sary  help  wth  him  is  to  see  ye  execution  of  ye  sentenc 
pformed." 

Dunton,  who  was  in  Boston  in  1686,  wrote  that 
"Their  way  of  whipping  Criminals  is  by  Tying  them 
to  a  Gun  at  the  Town-House  and  when  so  Ty'd  whip- 
ping them  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Magistrate  and  ac- 
cording to  the  Nature  of  the  Offence."  Dunton  may 
have  seen  this  done,  but  the  records  show  that  a  whip- 
ping-post and  stocks,  or  pillory,  were  early  put  up  in 
the  market-place,  and  after  the  Town  House  was  built 
were  maintained  below  and  at  the  east  end  of  it,  and 
that  persons  were  tied  to  this  post  to  be  whipped. 

The  calmness  with  which  even  cultivated  men  then 
viewed  the  public  whipping  of  women  appears  from 
the  record  by  Governor  Winthrop  of  the  punishment 
of  Mrs.  Oliver  in  1638.  She  was  a  woman  of  good 
character,  but  differed  violently  with  the  magistrates 
as  to  religious  matters,  for  which  she  was  reproved,  and 
finally  sentenced  to  have  her  tongue  put  in  a  cleft 
stick,  and  then  to  be  whipped.  Winthrop  calmly  writes 
of  this  in  his  journal:  "She  stood  without  tying  and 
bare  her  punishment  with  a  masculine  spirit."  But  he 
adds,  "After,  when  she  came  to  consider  the  reproach 
which  would  stick  to  her  by  this,  she  was  much  dejected." 

And  yet  the  colonists  of  Massachusetts  Bay  were  no 
more  bigoted  or  cruel  than  the  people  of  the  other 
colonies  and  of  England  at  the  time.#  It  was  a  fana- 
tical, cruel,  bigoted  period,  when  liberty  of  conscience 
and  of  person,  though  loudly  professed,  was  rigidly 

*  For  a  comparison  of  the  laws  of  the  colonies  and  the  laws  of  England  in 
these  matters,  see  Blue  Laws,  True  and  False  (Trumbull). 

[45] 


The  Story  of  the 

suppressed,  and  individual  action  was  subject  to  the 
most  minute  and  arbitrary  public  control. 

In  the  "Body  of  Liberties"  of  1641,  punishment  by 
whipping  was  restrained  as  follows :  "No  man  shall  be 
beaten  with  above  40  stripes,  nor  shall  any  true  gen- 
tleman, nor  any  man  equall  to  a  gentleman  be  pun- 
ished with  whipping,  unles  his  crime  be  very  shame- 
full,  and  his  course  of  life  vitious  and  profligate."  But 
this  restraint  of  whipping  to  forty  stripes  was  evaded 
by  whipping  the  criminal  at  successive  times  and  in 
different  towns.  Not  less  than  twelve  crimes  were  still 
punishable  by  death  under  this  code,  and  all  laws  were 
declared  by  it  to  be  based  upon  the  laws  of  God. 

But  while  the  colonists  thus  ruled  their  internal  af- 
fairs, they  steadily  maintained  their  chartered  privi- 
leges and  their  rights  under  the  common  law  of  Eng- 
land against  all  encroachments  of  the  royal  power; 
and  though  they  may  seem  to  us  now  to  have  been 
tyrannical  and  cruel,  they  were  men  of  character  and 
courage — they  believed  something  and  had  that  con- 
stancy born  of  conviction  which  always  ultimately  pre- 
vails over  mere  intellectual  power. 

Thus  the  early  settlers  lived  and  ordered  their  af- 
fairs. Their  lives  were  plain  and  simple,  and  full  of  suf- 
fering and  toil.  They  had  no  written  constitution  and  no 
lawyers.  The  Bible  was  their  constitution  and  the  min- 
isters were  their  lawyers.  Their  civil  government  was 
developed  from  their  theology,  and  their  legislation 
was  the  reenactment  of  the  laws  of  God,  as  they  under- 
stood them. 

Amid  these  rude  surroundings  and  primitive  condi- 

[46] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

tions,  under  the  severe  but  salutary  rule  of  the  Puritans, 
when  the  stocks  and  the  whipping-post,  though  less 
expensive,  were  quite  as  efficacious  for  good  order  and 
law  as  the  modern  reformatory  and  prison,  the  first 
Town  House  was  built. 


[47] 


Origin  and  Construction 
of  the  Town  House 

THE  Town  House  had  its  origin  in  the  sagacious 
benevolence  of  Captain  Robert  Keayne,  the  first 
commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery 
Company,  and  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  bene- 
volent citizens  of  the  town.  He  was  a  merchant,  and 
his  house  and  shop  were  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
Great  Street  and  the  Corn- Hill,  where  he  daily  saw 
the  necessity  for  better  conditions  for  the  market.  The 
need  of  a  Town  House  was  felt  by  all  the  citizens,  but 
they  were  not  able,  even  if  it  had  seemed  to  them  pro- 
per, to  pay  the  expense  by  general  taxation. 

The  first  suggestion  of  record  with  regard  to  a  Town 
House  is  found  in  the  town  records  of  March  12, 
1649,  when  "At  a  generall  Townesmeettinge  of  all  the 
Inhabitants  ...  It  was  ordered  that  those  that  shall  un- 
dertake to  builde  a  howse  for  the  Courts  to  be  kept  in, 
shall  have  the  Imunitye  of  it  that  comes  by  any  tole 
or  rent  to  them  and  their  hayers  for  ever." 

But  the  people  were  very  poor,  and  as  no  one  could 
be  found  to  undertake  the  expense  required  for  the 
construction  of  such  a  building,  they  continued  to  use 
the  meeting-house,  not  only  for  worship,  but  for  town 
and  colony  affairs,  until  after  the  death  of  Captain 
Keayne.  He  died  March  23,  1655-6,  and  left  a  will 
written  wholly  in  his  own  hand,  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  closely  written  folio  pages.  The  preamble 
was  as  follows: 

I  Robert  Keayne,  Cittizen  and  Mrchant  Taylor  of  London  by 

[  49] 


The  Story  of  the 

freedome,  and  by  the  good  Providence  of  God  now  dwelling  at 
Boston  in  New  England  in  Amireca  being  at  this  time  through 
the  great  goodnes  of  my  God,  both  in  health  of  body,  &  of  able 
and  sufficient  memory,  yet  considering  that  all  flesh  is  as  grasse, 
that  must  wither  and  will  returne  to  the  dust,  and  that  my  life 
may  be  taken  away  in  a  moment,  therefore  that  I  may  be  in  the 
better  readinesse  (and  freed  from  the  distracting  cares  of  the  dis- 
posing of  my  outward  estate,  wch  comonly  folio wes  the  deferring 
of  it,  while  the  time  of  sicknes  or  day  of  Death,  when  the  minde 
should  be  taken  up  with  more  serious  and  waighty  consideracons) 
I  doe  therefore  now  in  my  health  make  ordaine  &  declare  this  to 
be  my  Last  Will  and  Testament  and  to  stand  and  to  be  as  ef- 
fectuall  as  if  I  had  made  it  in  my  sicknes,  or  in  the  day  or  houre 
of  my  death,  which  is  in  manner  and  forme  following 

First  and  before  all  things,  I  comend  &  comit  my  pretious  soule 
into  the  hands  of  Almightie  God  (who  not  onely  as  a  Loving 
Creator  hath  given  it  unto  me  when  he  might  have  made  me  a 
bruite  beast,  but  also  as  a  most  Loveing  father  &  mercifull  Sa- 
vior,  hath  Redeemed  it  with  the  pretious  blood  of  his  owne  deare 
Sonne  and  my  Sweete  Jesus ;  from  the  gulfe  of  missery  and  ruine 
that  I  by  Originall  Sinne  and  actuall  transgressions  had  plunged 
it  into)  Therefor  renowncing  all  manner  of  knowne  errors,  all 
Popish  Prelaticall  superstitions,  all  Anabaptisticall  inthusiasmes 
and  Familisticall  delusions,  with  all  other  fayned  devises,  and  all 
Old  and  New  upstart  opinions,  unsound  and  blasphemous  errors, 
and  other  high  imaginations,  that  exalt  themselves  against  the 
honor  and  truth  of  God,  in  the  way  of  his  worsh,  and  ordinances 
and  against  the  dignitie  and  cepter  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  my 
Savior. 

In  this  will  he  said  as  to  a  Town  House: 

I  haveing  long  thought  &  considered  of  the  want  of  some 
necessary  things  of  publike  concernment  which  may  not  be  only 
com  odious  but  very  profitable  &  useful  1  for  the  Towne  of  Boston, 
as  a  Market  place  &  Cundit,  the  one  a  good  helpe  in  danger  of 
fyre,  the  want  of  which  wee  have  found  by  sad  &  costly  experi- 
ence not  only  in  other  parts  of  the  towne  where  possibly  they 
have  better  supply  for  water  but  in  the  heart  of  the  towne  about 

[50] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

the  market  place,  the  other  usefull  for  the  country  people  that 
come  with  theire  provisions  for  the  supply  of  the  towne,  that  they 
may  have  a  place  to  sitt  dry  in  and  warme  both  in  cold  raine  & 
durty  weather  &  may  have  a  place  to  leave  theire  corne  or  any 
other  things  safe  that  they  cannot  sell,  till  they  come  againe, 
which  would  be  both  an  incouragement  to  the  country  to  come  in 
&  a  great  meanes  to  increase  trading  in  the  Towne  also,  to  have 
some  convenient  room  or  too  for  the  Courts  to  meete  in  both  in 
Winter  &  Sumer  &  so  for  the  Townes  men  &  Commissiors  of 
the  Towne,  also  in  the  same  building  or  the  like  there  may  be  a 
convenient  roome  for  a  Library  &  a  gallery  or  some  other  hand- 
some roome  for  the  Elders  to  meete  in  &  conferr  together  when 
they  have  occasion  to  come  to  the  towne  for  any  such  ende,  as  I 
perceive  they  have  many,  Then  in  the  same  building  there  may 
be  also  a  roome  for  an  Armory  to  keepe  the  Armes  of  the  Artil- 
lery Company  &  for  the  Souldiers  to  meete  in  when  they  have  oc- 
casion, Now  if  it  should  not  be  thought  convenient  by  the  Elders 
&  Deacons  or  guids  of  the  towne  that  all  these  conveniencyes 
should  be  under  one  roofe  or  in  one  place  of  the  towne  or  that 
there  be  some  places  already  built  that  may  conveniently  be  used 
or  fitted  up  with  smale  cost  for  some  of  these  purposes,  as  in  the 
Meeting  House  for  a  Granere  or  Armory  &  other  places  in  it  for 
the  Magistrates  &  Commissiors  to  meete  in  as  they  doe  sometimes, 
it  is  true  in  the  sumer  they  may,  in  the  Winter  they  cannot  for 
want  of  chimneyes  &  fyres,  but  it  would  be  necessary  &  more 
convenient  (And  the  Towne  hath  beene  often  speaking  about  it, 
to  have  such  a  building  for  such  uses  though  yet  it  hath  not 
beene  accomplished)  if  there  were  a  place  fitted  on  purpose  &  set 
apart  for  suce  publike  uses,  and  if  advice  were  taken  with  some 
skilfull  &  ingenious  workmen  &  some  others  that  have  good  heads 
in  contriving  of  buildings  such  as  Mr.  Broughton,  Mr.  Clarke, 
the  Chirirgion  &c.  there  might  such  a  model  be  drawne  up  that 
one  fabricke  or  building  may  be  easily  contrived  that  would  con- 
veniently accomodate  all  these  uses,  without  extraordinary  cost 
and  yet  may  be  so  done  as  would  be  a  great  ornament  to  the 
towne  as  well  as  usefull  &  profitable  otherwayes  but  if  the  chiefe 
of  the  towne  should  be  of  anothr  minde,  then  I  should  propose 

[51  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

this,  that  the  cundit  &  Markett  House  be  sett  in  the  market 
place  somewhere  betweene  Mr  Cogins  house  &  mine  or  anywhere 
in  that  great  streete  betweene  Mr.  Parkers  House  &  Mr  Brentons 
or  rather  Mr.  Webb's  if  it  should  be  judged  there  to  be  more 
convenient,  these  two  may  handsomely  be  contrived  in  one  build- 
ing in  wch  possibly  may  be  some  other  convenient  roomes  fitt  for 
some  of  the  uses  before  mentioned  besides  &  for  those  which  that 
place  cannot  supply,  as  for  a  Library  &  for  a  Gallere  or  Long 
Roome  for  the  Devines  &  Schollers  to  meete  &  conferr  togeather 
upon  any  occasion  it  may  be  contrived  to  be  sett  all  along  on  the 
foreside  of  the  Meeting  house  joyning  to  it  on  the  one  side  and 
the  other  side  to  be  supported  with  pillars  so  the  roomes  about 
may  be  for  Court  meetings  at  the  one  side  &  the  Elders  at  the 
other  &  the  open  roome  betweene  the  pillars  may  serve  for  Mer- 
chants, Mr  of  Shipps  and  strangers  as  well  as  the  towne  (being 
either  paled  or  borded  on  the  ground)  to  meete  in  at  all  times  to 
conferr  about  there  busines  &  occasions  wch  I  conceive  would  be 
very  advantagius  to  the  towne  &  may  be  so  contrived  &  sett  forth 
y*  will  be  no  disgrace  or  incumbrance  to  the  meeting  house  but 
a  great  ornament  to  it  but  if  it  should  be  thought  not  convenient 
to  have  it  in  the  front  of  the  Meeting  House,  it  may  accomplish 
the  same  ends,  if  placed  on  that  side  of  the  Meeting  House  from 
Seargeant  Williams  shop  to  Deacon  Trusdalls  house,  or  if  a  build- 
ing placed  in  one  of  these  two  places  may  accomplish  all  the  ends 
before  menconed  save  only  the  Cunditt  then  a  large  Cundit  may 
be  sett  up  alone,  about  the  place  where  the  Pillary  stands  &  the 
other  about  the  meeting  house  as  before  wch  I  leave  to  the  best 
contrivement  of  the  towne  &  the  Elders  &  Deacons  wch  building 
or  buildings  if  the  towne  shall  thinke  meete  to  goe  about  it  & 
improve  them  for  the  severall  uses  before  mentioned,  only  the 
Granere  may  be  in  any  other  place  of  the  towne  as  shalbe  thought 
convenient,  I  stand  not  upon  that  though  my  owne  judgement 
leads  me  to  thinke  that  some  places  or  place  about  the  Comon 
Market  or  near  to  it  wilbe  most  suitable  for  many  reasons.  I  say 
towards  the  building  of  these  convenient  places. 

Item  I  give  and  bequeath  three  hundreth  pounds  in  good 
merchantable  pay  the  one  third  part  thereof  when  the  frame  is 

[52] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

brought  to  the  place  &  raysed  or  some  part  of  it  before  when 
the  frame  is  in  some  forwardness  if  neede  be,  the  sconde  part 
when  the  chimneyes  are  built,  the  house  covered  and  closed  in 
round  and  all  the  floors  laved,  and  the  last  third  part  when  it  is 
quite  finished,  provided  that  it  be  gone  about  and  finished 
within  two  or  three  yeares  at  the  most  after  my  decease,  and  if 
any  of  these  either  a  Cundet  or  Markett  House  should  be  sett 
up  before  my  death,  by  the  towne  or  any  other  in  the  place  or 
places  above  mentioned,  then  my  gift  shall  remaine  good  either 
for  some  addition  to  the  same  worke  or  for  the  accomplishing 
of  those  other  workes  by  me  mentioned  that  are  not  done  br- 
others, with  a  rebating  proportionable  to  what  is  or  shalbe  be- 
fore done  by  the  towne  or  any  other  Pson,  Now  that  these 
things  may  not  be  only  for  a  show  or  a  name  &  when  finished 
prove  as  shaddowes  &  stand  as  emptie  roomes  without  substance 
that  they  may  be  improved  for  the  uses  that  I  ayme  at  &  in- 
tend though  my  estate  is  not  such  as  wherebv  I  am  able  to  doe 
what  I  desire  &  would  be  willing  to  doe  if  I  had  it,  for  such 
publike  benefitt,  yet  for  examples  sake  &  encouragement  of  oth- 
ers (especially  of  our  owne  towne  w°h  will  have  the  benefitt  of  it) 
&  such  in  the  towne  that  have  publike  spirits  &  some  comfort- 
able estates  to  helpe  on  such  workes  I  shalbe  willing  to  cast  in 
my  mite  &  bring  my  lime  &  hare  possibly  God  may  stirr  up 
the  hearts  of  others  to  bring  in  their  Badger  skines  &  silke  & 
others  more  costly  things  that  the  worke  may  goe  on  &  prosper 
in  so  smale  a  beginning. 

The  will  then  provided  that  when  the  room  for  the 
"meeting  of  the  Elders  in  the  Towne  House"  was  fitted 
so  "that  they  might  meet  when  they  pleased  thereat 
fower  pounds  a  yeare  should  be  payd  out  of  some  of 
his  shops  in  Boston  by  quarterly  payments  w^1  should 
be  ordered  and  disposed  as  the  Eldrs  should  direct  or 
advise  to  provide  some  refreshing  for  them  when  they 
meete  or  now  and  then  dinnrs  as  farr  as  it  will  goe  & 
as  themselves  shalbe  pleased  to  husband  it." 

[53] 


The  Story  of  the 

Then  followed  another  provision  for  a  "convenient 
fayre  roome  in  one  of  the  buildings  before  mentioned 
for  an  Amory  &  the  meeting  of  the  Artillery,"  &c. 

Later  on  in  the  will  Captain  Keayne  spoke  further 

of  this  legacy  of  three  hundred  pounds,  partially  as 

follows : 

Now  concerning  the  originall  legacy  of  Three  hundred  pounds 
that  I  have  given  to  the  Towne  of  Boston  for  the  raysing  of  a 
Cundit  in  the  Market  place  &  for  a  building  to  fitt  for  such  uses 
as  I  have  before  mentioned,  if  any  shall  alleadge  that  three  hun- 
dred pounds  is  not  sufficient  to  accomplish  it  I  answr.  1.  That  it 
may  be  some  of  these  may  be  gone  about  &  finished  by  ye  Towne 
before  God  may  call  me  out  of  this  world  as  ye  Cundet  or  mrkett 
house  &c.  &  then  there  wilbe  the  lesse  to  doe  and  I  know  that 
the  Towne  hath  agitated  it  &  seriously  intended  to  have  gone 
about  to  doe  them  all  except  only  ye  library,  as  such  things  that 
are  needfull  &  will  turne  to  the  publike  advantage  of  the  Towne. 
2ly.  I  say  that  I  conceive  if  it  be  well  managed  &  ordered  it  may 
doe  it  all  or  very  neare  it.  I  suppose  one  of  the  two  last  houses 
that  I  built  hath  roome  enough  in  it  to  accomplish  all  the  ends 
before  mentioned  excepting  the  Cundit,  if  it  had  beene  first  con- 
trived &  thought  on  for  such  an  ende,  yet  that  hath  not  cost  me 
400 lb,  not  by  so  much  as  I  suppose  will  neare  build  a  new  Con- 
dit,  but  Thirdly  if  it  should  fall  short  I  doe  expect  &  suppose 
that  the  Towne  wilbe  willing  to  add  to  it  &  make  up  the  rest 
either  by  enlarging  of  the  Conveniencyes  or  beautifying  the 
structure  for  the  better  ornament  of  the  towne  &  possibly  some 
else  may  thinke  of  some  other  thing  wanting,  that  may  be  as 
usefull  to  the  gennrall  good  of  the  towne  as  most  of  these  to  be 
added  to  it,  wch  I  have  not  thought  upon,  besides  if  I  were  about 
to  build  a  thinge  that  I  conceive  would  be  very  usefull  &  ad- 
vantagious  to  me  but  am  not  comfortably  able  to  beare  the  charge 
of  it,  if  any  freind  out  of  love  to  me  would  lend  me  300 lb.  some 
considerable  time  gratise  it  would  be  a  great  incouragement  to 
goe  on  with  the  worke,  but  if  he  should  offer  to  give  me  freely 
300 lb.  towards  it  I  should  think  my  selfe  bound  to  be  very  thanke- 

[  54] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

full  to  him  and  to  be  willing  to  make  up  what  is  wanting  rather 
than  I  would  loose  so  free  a  kindness  by  my  neglecting  of  the 
worke. 

But  possibly  some  wilbe  ready  to  apprehend  that  I  may  doe 
this  only  for  my  own  endes  &  benefitt  wch  may  make  them  the 
more  backward  to  have  it  goe  on  especially  with  any  of  their  own 
Cost,  for  some  such  spiritts  there  be  that  had  rather  deny  them- 
selves a  benefitt  then  that  another  should  enjoy e  a  greater  bene- 
fitt by  it,  as  some  have  said  that  I  have  beene  very  forward  to 
have  a  Cundit  in  yt  place  because  I  have  so  many  houses  &  build- 
ings there  about  &  so  a  Market  House  wilbe  more  the  beneficiall 
to  bring  trade  to  my  shops.  I  answr  putt  case  that  this  were  in 
all  things  true,  it  is  not  sinefull  nor  unlawfull  in  Christian  prudence 
to  pvide  meanes  for  the  pr venting  of  danger  or  procureing  of  any 
lawfull  good,  I  doubt  not  but  they  would  doe  the  like  if  it  were 
their  owne  case.  But  2dly  what  advantage  will  this  be  to  me  when  I 
am  dead  and  gone,  if  others  should  not  receive  more  benefitt  then 
I  by  it  I  need  not  trouble  my  selfe  with  what  may  fall  out  in  after 
times,  in  these  respects  for  I  shall  feele  no  want,  nor  suffer  any 
damage  by  such  losses  &  a  100  things  would  come  into  consid- 
eration as  needfull  to  prvent  or  provide  for  as  these,  if  men  goe- 
ing  out  of  the  world  should  trouble  themselves  with  the  care  of 
such  changes  and  things  that  may  happen  when  they  are  dead. 
3dly  If  my  housen  only  were  there  &  no  other  shops  but  myne, 
there  might  be  more  ground  for  such  an  apprehension,  but  it  is 
the  heart  of  the  towne  and  many  fayre  buildings  &  shops  there 
be  round  about,  the  Market  is  there  seated  allready,  the  Market 
house  is  more  for  the  conveniency  of  strangrs  &  there  accommo- 
dation in  winter  and  sumer  in  wet  &  dry  there  for  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  towne  &  in  that  respect  it  is  a  worke  of  charitie  and 
mercy  and  though  some  pticular  psons  that  trade  may  have  more 
benefitt  by  it  then  some  other  psons  that  dwell  further  off,  yet, 
the  advantage  &  profitt  of  it  will  redound  to  the  whole  towne  in 
gennrall. 

It  was  six  months  after  the  death  of  Captain  Keayne 

before  the  town  took  the  first  step  toward  carrying  out 

his  plan.  The  records  of  the  selectmen  for  the  month  of 

[55] 


The  Story  of  the 

December  29, 1656,  contain  the  following  item:  "It  is 
agreed  that  the  next  day  of  our  meeting  some  time  bee 
spent  to  consider  of  Capt.  Keayne's  will  in  respect  of 
the  legacyes  given  to  the  towne."  On  January  25, 1657, 
the  record  shows  that  the  selectmen  voted  as  follows : 
"Upon  the  perusall  of  Capt.  Keayne's  will  respecting 
the  legacyes  given  to  the  towne,  itt  is  agreed  that  forth- 
with the  executrix  and  overseers  of  the  said  will  bee  ad- 
vised with  concerning  the  said  legacyes  with outt  delay." 
A  "Generall  towns  meeting"  was  held  March  9, 
1657,  and  voted  to  appoint  a  committee,  and  the  re- 
cord runs  thus:  "Capt.  Savage,  Mr.  Stodard,  Mr.  How- 
chin,  and  Mr.  Ed.  Hutchinson,  sen.,  are  chosen  a  com- 
ittee  to  consider  of  the  modell  of  the  towne  house,  to 
bee  built,  as  concerning  the  charge  thereof,  and  the 
most  convenient  place,  as  also  to  take  the  subscriptions 
of  the  inhabitants  to  propagate  such  a  building,  and 
seasonably  to  make  report  to  a  publick  townes  meet- 
ing." It  is  suggestive  of  the  independent  spirit  of  the 
voters  that  neither  Mr.  Broughton  nor  "Mr.  Clarke, 
the  chirurgeon,"  was  appointed  on  this  committee,  al- 
though Captain  Keayne  in  his  will  had  suggested  them 
as  proper  persons  for  this  work.  This  committee  pre- 
pared and  circulated  subscription  papers  as  they  were 
directed  to  do,  and  two  of  the  original  papers  are  pre- 
served,— one  in  the  possession  of  the  Bostonian  Soci- 
ety, and  the  other  in  that  of  the  Massachusetts  Histo- 
rical Society.  The  enterprise  evidently  met  with  ready 
support,  for  the  papers  contain  the  names  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  persons,  and  the  subscriptions 
amount  to  more  than  five  hundred  pounds.  Many  of 

[56] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

the  amounts  were  pledged  in  produce.  "In  country 
pay,"  "In  goods  and  corne,"  "In  goods  and  provisions," 
"In  bricks,  lyeme  or  timber,"  "In  hats,"  "In  shoes,"  are 
some  of  the  phrases  with  which  the  amounts  are  modi- 
fied. Many  also  agreed  to  give  work.  Edmund  Jacklin 
made  a  subscription  of  one  pound  in  glass,  "or  work, 
if  I  be  in  the  contry  when  the  house  is  to  be  glassed." 
Many  promised  help  on  condition  that  "ye  market 
house  bee  Errected  in  ye  markett  place,  &  a  Cunditt." 
The  "Cunditt,"to  which  allusion  is  made  in  Captain 
Keayne's  will,  was  doubtless  intended  for  use  as  a  reser- 
voir for  water.  At  all  events  this  was  the  first  attempt 
in  New  England  to  provide  water  for  the  people  at 
the  public  expense.  It  did  not  succeed  at  the  time  of 
the  building  of  the  Town  House,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  find  that  Captain  Keayne  and  many  other  citizens 
of  Boston  had  the  foresight  to  see  that  such  a  re- 
servoir was  needed.  It  was  not  until  1671-2  that  the 
"Condit"  was  finally  abandoned.  In  that  year  we  find 
that  "at  a  meeting  of  all  ye  Selectmen  at  Capt.  Dauis 
house"  a  vote  was  recorded  as  follows: 

Libertie  is  granted  to  Mr.  Nicholas  Paige  to  take  away  the 
brickes  belongeinge  to  the  place  intended  for  a  conduit  at  ye 
end  of  the  towne  house  before  his  dore,  prouided  he  imediately 
fill  the  place  euen  wth  the  ground  about  it,  for  wch  he  brought 
a  note  from  the  Ouerseers  of  Capt.  Robert  Keaynes  Will,  &  a 
discharge  for  his  guift  expended  thereabout,  a  Coppie  where  of 
followeth  &  ye  Originall  kept  amonge  the  townes  writings. 
To  the  Selectmen  of  Bostone. 

Vnderstandinge  by  Mr.  Paige  that  the  place  builded  for  a 
Conduit  is  prejuditiall  to  his  house  &  shops  and  that  you  are 
willinge  he  should  remoue  and  improue  it  to  his  own  vse,  if  our 
consent  may  be  had  thereto  and  beinge  informed  likewise  that 

[57] 


The  Story  of  the 

Capt.  Robert  Keaynes  guift  to  ye  towne  of  Bostone  for  y*  end 
hath  beene  expended  vpon  that  worke,  though  by  the  proui- 
dence  of  God,  it  hath  not  proued  soe  vsefull  as  was  expected  and 
desired,  vpon  these  considerations,  Wee  the  Ouerseers  of  Cap1 
Keaynes  will  shall  acquiesse  in  what  is  done,  and  not  trouble  the 
towne  of  Bostone  any  further  in  relation  to  that  particular. 
Witness  our  hands  the  7th  of  1st  mo.  1671. 

Symond  Broadstreet 
Daniell  Denison 
Edward  Rawson 
James  Johnson. 

There  were  two  subscription  papers  for  contributions 

toward  the  expense  of  building  the  Town  House.  One 

was  as  follows: 

Whereas  thear  is  giuen  a  considerabl  sume  by  Capt.  Kayne 
towars  the  Bulding  of  a  towne  house  wch  sum  will  not  ataine  the 
Bulding  wch  he  mentioneth  in  his  will,  now  considering  the  vse- 
fulnes  of  such  a  structure  we  whose  names  are  vnder  written,  doe 
ingag  or  selues  or  heyres  executors  for  to  giue  towards  the  abou 
sd  hous  and  alsoe  a  condit  in  the  market  place  the  severall  sumes 
vnder  written. 

Jo:  Endecott 
17    pd  Ri  Bellingham  in  Country  pay 
pd  Edward  Tynge  in  Corne 
pd  John  Euered  in  goods  and  corne 
pd  46  s  Peter  Olliuer  in  goods  and  provisions 
John8  Barrett:  in  goods:  or  corne 
d.  29  Aug.  1658 
pd  James  Olliuer  provided  there  be  a  Cun- 
dit  withall  in  goods  and  provisions 
eqelly 
Will  Paine  in  goods  and  provisions 
pd  Richard  Parker  in  goods  and  provisions 
pd  Nathaniell  Williams  in  goods 
pd  Sarah  Parker  in  provisions 
pd  Henry  Powning  in  goods 

[58] 


£ 

s 

2 

10 

00 

10 

00 

00  pd 

10 

00 

00  pd 

010 

00 

00  pd 

10 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

12 

0 

00  pd 

15 

00 

00 

10 

00 

00  pd 

03 

00 

00  pd 

05 

00 

00  pd 

02 

00 

00  pd 

^05 

00 

00  pd 

005 

00 

00  pd 

02 

0 

0 

05 

00 

00  pd 

04 

00 

00  pd 

5 

0 

Opd 

03 

10 

00  pd 

02 

10 

00  pd 

5 

00 

00  pd 

5 

00 

00  pd 

Old  Boston  Town  House 

pd  John  Cogan  in  Corne 
]  five  pound 
paid  Theodore  Atkinson  will  give  in  hats 

Tho  Howkings 
paid  John  Hull  In  English  goods  fivebs 
pd  Thomas  Clarke  in  provision  or  goods 
pd  Robt  Turner 
paid  Richard  Cooke  in  provisions 

pd  Robert  Swift 
paid  Samuel  Hutchinson  in  wheat 
paid  Josh  Scottow  in  p vision  or  goods 
pd  Willm  Hudson  will :  pay  in  bricks  lyeme 

boards  [         ]  or  timber  the  some  of     10     00     00  pd 
Hezekiah  Usher :  will  pay  2  In  English 
pd  Goods  or  equivolent,  twentye :  poundes, 
paid  prouiso :  y*  ye  market  house  bee 

Errected  in  ye  markett  place:  &  a 
Cunditt  20     00     00  pd 

Wm  Dauis  will  pay  in  goods  &  corne 
paid      Fifteene  pounds  provided  ye  market- 
house  be  Eerected  in  ye  markett  place 
&  a  conduitt  also  raised  &  Finished 
pd  Thomas  Buttolph 
paid  James  Penn 

paid  Jacob  Sheafe  in  provision  &  goods 
paid  Tho :  Lake  J  In  English-goods  &  J  In 
provisions 
pd  Isaak  Waker  in  English  goods  or  pro- 
visions 
paid  John  Sunderline  3£ 
[    ]  pd  Robt :  Pateshall,  in  planke  or  boards 
paid  Thomas  Matson 
paid  John  Williams 
paid  Thomas  Edsell 
paid  Thomas  Bligh 
paid  Richard  Gridley 
paid  John  Button 

[59] 


15 

— 

— 

02 

00 

00 

05 

00 

00 

12 

00 

00 

09 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

05 

00 

00 

1 

0 

0 

0 

10 

0 

00 

10 

0 

00 

15 

00 

02 

00 

00 

05 

00 

0 

The  Story  of  the 


Benjamin  Negus 

James  Eueritt  in  Flower 

Robt  Batterly 
paid  John  Coney 
paid  Samuell  Mattocke 
paid  Riehd  Stanes 

paid  Rowland  Story  in  Lewtenant  Cooks  hand  01 
paid  Ri  Wayte 
paid  Philip  Whorton 
paid  Augusten  Clement 
paid  Richard  Woodde  in  provision  [ 
paid  John  Phillips 
paid  Tho  Emons 
paid  Thomas  Littell  thre  dayes  worke 

Humphrey  Bradshaw  thre  dayes  worke 

Joseph  Bonde  ten  shillings  by  Samell 
Lemist 

George  Brome  a  bushel  wheate 
paid  William  Paddy 
paid  Henry  Kemble 
paid  Thomas  Makepeace 
paid  Joshua  Hewes 

Ffrances  Smith 
paid  Francis  Douse 
paid  John  Pierce 
paid  Simon  Eire 
paid  Comfort  Starr 
paid  Henry  Phillips 
paid  Henry  Shrimpton  Corne  wood 
paid  John  Lowel 

paid  George  Munioy  three  pounds 
paid  Jno.  Joyliffe 
paid  Amos  Richardson 
pd  Edmond  Grenleff 
pd  Edward  Porter 
paid  Nicholas  Phillips 
pd  Thomas  Harwood 


01 

00 

00 

00 

15 

00 

00 

15 

00 

00 

7 

00 

00 

10 

00 

01 

00 

00 

02 

00 

00 

02 

00 

00 

1 

0 

0 

01 

0 

0 

03 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

00 

10 

0 

00 

10 

0 

00 

10 

0 

00 

04 

00 

12 

0 

0 

00 

10 

0 

01 

00 

0 

00 

10 

0 

00 

10 

00 

00 

09 

0 

s4> 

00 

1 

10 

0 

01 

00 

00 

05 

00 

00 

10 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

02 

00 

00 

0 

10 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

10 

0 

1 

00 

0 

[60] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 


paid  Thomas  Brattle 

5 

0 

0 

paid  Thomas  Baker  in  Iron  workes 

01 

00 

0 

paid  John  Biggs  in  Shingle  or  worke 

002 

00 

00 

paid  Jo.  Marshall  in  shoes 

01 

0 

0 

paid  Henry  Alline  [ 

01 

00 

00 

paid  Hugh  Drury 

01 

00 

0 

paid  John  Collens 

1 

0 

0 

paid  Thomas  Scotto 

1 

0 

0 

paid  Nathanell  Thorn 

0 

10 

0 

paid  John  Pears 

1 

0 

0 

paid  William  Reade 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Will.  Tay 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Jo11  Blacklach 

01 

00 

00 

paid  John  Clough 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Sam11  Da  vice 

00 

05 

00 

paid  Samuell  Cole 

02 

00 

00 

paid  Christopher  Gibson 

02 

00 

00 

paid  Robert  Nanney 

02 

00 

00 

paid  Henry  Bridgham 

10 

00 

00 

paid  Thomas  Waker 

12 

10 

00 

paid  Nathanell  Reynolls 

01 

00 

00 

John  Hawkines  tobaco 

01 

00 

00 

paid  Arthur  Masson 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Ann  Carter  10s 

00 

10 

00 

paid  James  Dauis  by  Tho :  Joy  6  s  &  4<s  more 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Daniel  Turill 

01 

00 

00 

paid  Thomas  Fitch 

00 

10 

00 

paid  Edmund  Jacklin  in  glass  or  worke  if  I 

be  in  the  contry  when  the  house  is  to 

be  glassed 

01 

00 

00 

paid  William  Gibson 

00 

05 

00 

paid  Jeremy  Castine 

01 

90 

00 

paid  Edmund  Jackson  by  Thomas  Fay 

01 

00 

00 

Miells  Towne  in  lether 

00 

5s 

00 

pd  William  English — in  shoes 

02 

00 

00 

paid  Joseph  Howe  Twenty  Shillings 

01 

0 

0 

paid  Samuel  Norden  in  shoes 

00 

10 

0 

[61] 


01 

10 

00 

1 

10 

00 

01 

00 

0 

00 

10 

0 

01 

10 

0 

0 

10 

0 

3 

00 

00 

0 

06 

00 

02 

00 

00 

10 

00 

00 

1 

00 

00 

2 

1 

10 

00 

02 

10 

0 

2 

00 

00 

The  Story  of  the 

pd  \0s  Robert  Nash  in  worke 

paid  Mathew  Barnes — paid  1 — 9 — 3 
paid  Thomas  Dewer 
paid  William  Corser 
paid  Bartholomew  Cheever  30 s 
Henerv  Messenger — paid 
Will  Colburn  in  [         ]  or  provision 
paid  16.9 
paid  Edward  Goodwin 
pd  James  Johnson  in  his  Comoditves 
pd    5s  John  Newgat  promise  to  give  five  pound 
&  in  [         ]  the  preveledg  of  our 

[     ] 

Thomas  Bumsted  of  Boston  promise 
paid  Natha.  Duncan 
paid  Peter  Duncan 
paid  John  Wis  wall 
paid  Joseph  Wise 

The  other  original  subscription  paper  is  in  the  same 
form,  but  in  a  different  handwriting  and  with  a  differ- 
ent mode  of  spelling.  The  subscriptions  to  it  are  as 
follows : 

paid  Robert  Raynals 

paid  John  Lake 

paid  Robert  Sanderson 

paid  Raphfe  Mason 

paid  Richard  Carter  by  goodman  Baker 

paid  Mr  John  Anderson 

paid  Nathaniel!  Greene 

paid  Joseph  Rocke  six  pounds 

paid  Gamaliel  Waite 

Mr  Ransford 
paid  John  Shaw  fisherman 
paid  Mical  Willis  cutler 

Thomas  Leder 
paid  William  Whitwel 

[62] 


£ 

s 

1 

0 

0 

01 

10 

00 

01 

00 

00 

01 

00 

0 

01 

00 

0 

02 

00 

0 

01 

10 

0 

06 

00 

0 

01 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

00 

10 

00 

01 

00 

00 

00 

10 

00 

01 

10 

00 

Old  Boston  Town  House 


paid  Joseph  Moore 
paid  Bartholomew  Barloe 
paid  Heue  Williams 

Marke  Hams 
paid  John  Sweet e 

paid  John  Farnam  in  worke  or  other  pay 
paid  Tho :  Clarke  in  Bondes  at  springe 
paid  Evan  Thomas  will  pay  in  literedge 
paid  John  Baker 
paid  John  Lewes 

Deacon  Trusdell 
paid  Mr  David  Eavens  pr  Capt  Oliver 
paid  William  Browne 
paid  William  Beamslleay 
paid  Zakary  Phillips 
paid  Will™  Wenborne 
paid  William  Cotton 
paid  Alexander  Becks 
paid  John  Richards  three  pounds 
paid  Edward  Lane  prmise  to  pay  by  the 
hands  of  Lieu*  Rich.  Cooke  five 
pounds  and  tenn  shillings  I  say 
paid  Mr.  Bishop 

Mrs.  Richards  Re  10, s 
paid  Alex :  Adames  promis 

Mr  Edward  Belcher  pr  Mr.  Hill 
paid  Deacon  Trusdell 

pd  William  Brenton  in  (         ) 
paid  Jo.  Checkley 

Simon  Lynde  Five  pounds 
paid  Henry  Blake 
paid  Mr.  Henry  Webb 
paid  Capte  Pendleton 
pd  Richard  Taylor 

John  Parker,  Shewmaker 
paid  Abraham  Busby 

Mr  Webb  Shewmaker 

[63] 


01 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

02 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

02 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

10 

00 

00 

01 

10 

00 

01 

10 

00 

1 

0 

0 

2 

00 

00 

2 

10 

00 

01 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

01 

10 

00 

00 

05 

00 

03 

00 

00 

5 

10* 

2 

00 

0 

1 

10 

0 

01 

10 

00 

10 

00 

00 

01 

00 

00 

10 

00 

00 

02 

10 

0 

5 

02 

10 

0 

20 

00 

0 

05 

0 

0 

00 

15 

0 

01 

00 

0 

02 

10 

0 

00 

10 

0 

The  Story  of  the 

paid  Mr  Houchin  05     00     00 

paid  Mr.  Alfford  01     10     00 

Sketches  of  the  signers  of  the  subscription  papers  will 
be  found  in  an  interesting  article  by  Walter  Kendall 
Watkins  in  volume  three  of  the  Bostonian  Society  Pub- 
lications. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  discussion  as  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  Town  House.  Apparently  the  market-place 
was  at  once  accepted  as  the  proper  place  for  such  a 
building.  The  title  to  the  land  was  the  same  as  that 
to  the  land  covered  by  the  rest  of  the  street,  namely, 
the  original  proprietary  right  of  the  first  colonists  un- 
der their  Charter  from  the  Crown.  As  late  as  May  3, 
1708,  the  selectmen  for  the  town  of  Boston  entered 
on  their  proceedings  an  order:  "that  the  Streets  Lanes 
and  Alleys  of  this  Town  as  they  are  now  bounded  and 
named  be  accordingly  recorded  in  the  Town  Books 
w°h  are  as  followeth:  viz1."  And  among  other  streets 
thus  recorded  was  "The  Street  Leading  from  Corn 
Hill  includeing  the  wayes  on  each  side  of  the  Town 
House  extending  easterly  to  the  sea King  st." 

This  street,  now  State  Street,  was  for  many  years 
the  most  frequented  street  in  the  town,  and  was 
treated  by  the  town  as  one  street.  The  space  in  it  at 
the  top  was,  as  a  foregone  conclusion,  the  best  place 
for  the  new  public  building  which  Captain  Keayne  had 
desired  "should  be  a  great  ornament  to  the  towne  as 
well  as  usefull  &  profitable  otherwayes." 

The  committee  appointed  by  the  town  in  January, 
1657,  doubtless  reported  progress  to  the  town,  but  no 
record  of  their  report  is  now  to  be  found.  Another 

[  64] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

committee  was  shortly  after  appointed  with  power  to 
make  contracts  for  the  work,  and  August  31,  1657, 
they  made  the  following  written  appointment  of  agents. 
The  original  paper  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society. 

Power  Conferred  by  the  Committees  for  the  Town  House,  1657. 
Wee  whofe  names  are  vnder  wrighten  having  full  power  given 
vs  by  the  Town  of  Bofton  to  Agree  with  workmen,  &  in  their  be- 
halfe  to  Engadge  the  Town,  In  the  Payment  of  any  fum  or  fums 
for  the  building  Erecting  &  Compleating  of  A  houfe  for  the  Town 
both  for  the  forme  &  dimentions  &c.  according  as  we  f  hall  Judge 
meet,  They  the  fd  Towne  having  Engadged  themfelves  to  own 
ftand  by  vs  and  pforme  what  promifes  Covenants  or  Engadgm 
wee  f  hould  make  in  order  to  the  accomplif  hing  of  the  premifes, 
And  to  facillitate  the  fd  worke  we  the  fd  fubfcribed  doe  make 
choyce  of  M  Edward  Hutchinfon  &  John  Hull  in  o  behalfe  to 
Agree  &  Compound  with  workmen  &  Engadge  paym1  in  everie 
refpect  for  the  fd  worke  &  we  doe  hereby  oblidge  or  felves  to  ftand 
by,  own,  &  performe  what  the  fd  Mr  Ed :  Hutchinfon  &  Jn  Hull 
Soe  deputed  f  hall  doe  or  Engadge  themfelves  in  as  iff  it  was  the 
perfonall  act  of  everie  one  off  vs  &  heervnto  we  fubfcribe  or  hands, 
by  this  binding  or  felves  likewife  to  own  what  the  fd  prtyes  have 
allridy  done  in  the  fd  worke  figned  this  31  of  the  6th  month  1657. 

'Tho:  Marshall 


Townefmen 
Comifsioners. 


Samuel  Cole 
William  Paddy 
Josh:  Scottow 
Jer:  Howchin. 


The  written  contract  for  the  construction  of  the 
Town  House  is  dated  a  month  earlier  than  this  ap- 
pointment of  agents,  and  was  made  by  Hull  and  Hutch- 
inson with  Thomas  Joy  and  Bartholomew  Bernad. 
That  paper  is  also  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  and  is  as  follows: 

[65] 


The  Story  of  the 

Agreemt  fob.  the  Towx  HorsE  — 1657 
Boftcm,  Auguft  1.  16' 

Wee  whofe  names  are  vnder  wrighten  Being  chofen  by  &  in 
behalfe  of  the  Town  of  Bofton,  to  bargain  &  Contract  with  foroe 
able  workmen  about  A  houfe  for  the  Town,  we  have  bargained 
&  Contracted,  &  by  thefe  prefents  doe  bargain  &  Covenant  with 
Thomas  Joy  and  Bartholomew  Bemad  of  Bofton ;  &  the  f*1  Tho- 
mas Joy  &  Barth  Bemad,  are  heerby  bound  &  doe  oblidge  them- 
felves  vnto  the  fd  Town  of  Bofton  (&  in  vn  [to]  In  theire  behalfe) 
that  they  will  Prepare  &  Erect,  a  very  fubftantiall  and  Comely 
building  In  the  place  Appointed  by  the  fd  Town;  The  dimen- 
tions  of  w°h  Edifice  fhall  be  fixty  fix  foot  in  Length,  and  thirty 
fix  foot  in  Breadth  from  out  fide  to  out  fide,  fet  vpon  twenty  one 
Pillers  of  full  ten  foot  high  between  Pedeftall  &  Capitall,  &  well 
brafed  all  four  waies,  placed  vpon  foundation  of  ftones  in  the  bot- 
tome.  The  wholl  Building  to  Jetty  over  three  foot  without  the 
Pillers  everie  way :  The  height  of  the  f d  Houfe  to  be  ten  foot  be- 
twixt Joynts  above  the  Pillers,  and  a  halfe  ftorie  above  that  with 
three  gable  Endes  over  it  vpon  each  fide :  A  walke  vpon  the  Top 
fourteen  or  15  foote  wide  with  two  Turrets,  &  turnd  Balafters  and 
railes,  round  about  the  walke  according  to  A  modell  or  draught 
Prefented  to  vs,  by  the  fd  Tho:  Joy  ft  Barth:  Bemad.  The  P 
Tho :  Joy  &:  Barth.  Bemad  Likewife  finding  things  necifarie  and 
meet  for  the  P1  Building  viz :  Timber  in  in  everie  refpect  &  of 
everie  fort,  fubftantiall  &  meet  according  to  Proportion  &  Art, 
Plank  for  the  fides  &  ends  three  Inch  thick,*  well  groved  into 
one  another,  and  into  the  timbers  allfo  an  Inch  and  halfe;  well 
plained  and  fmoothed  on  Both  fides,  two  Inch  plank  for  the  lower 
floor,  and  full  Inch  for  the  vpper  floor,  Both  fmoothed,  and  vpon 
the  walk  duble  boarded  and  well  groved;  the  Rooff  well  boarded 
&  fhingled,  with  gutters  fufficiently  made. 

Bringing  all  to  the  Place,  Erecting  finifhing  &  Compleating 
the  whole  Edifice  viz  The  Frame,  foundations,  Floores,  ftaires  (viz 
Two  pair  halfe  paced  ftaires  &  turnd  ftaires  vp  into  the  walke) 
doores,  window  Cafes  &  Cafements,  mantle  peeces  Inclofures  Per- 

*  "Only  we  alow  of  Two  Inch  plank  for  the  fides  &  ends  above  the  Plates  & 

[66] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

titions  *  &c  The  wholl  Edifice  to  be  Erected,  by  the  thirty  daye 
of  the  fourth  month  called  June  next  enfuing  the  date  heeroff; 
and  Covered  and  fhingled  within  fix  weekes  after  that.  The 
Town  finding  all  the  Iron  worke,  as  nailes  hookes  hinges  &c.  glafs 
with  glafing  and  Lead  for  the  Gutters  mafonrie  worke  as  the 
chimnies,  foundation  of  the  Pillers  with  ftone  brick  &  Lime  be- 
longing to  the  fame  the  afforfd  Tho:  &  Barth:  all  the  other 
worke  as  affo.sd  The  Town  finding  help  at  the  ravfing. 

In  confideration  of  the  premifes  we  doe  heerby  oblidge  our- 
felves  (according  to  order  &  in  behalfe  of  the  f d  Town  of  Bofton 
afforf d.)  To  give  &  Afligne  over  vnto  the  f d  Tho :  Joy  &  Barthol : 
Bernad  or  to  either  of  them  or  their  affignes  the  three  Hund: 
Pounds  wch  is  that  Part  of  the  Legacy  of  Cap1  Rob  Keyne  (de- 
ceafed)  defigned  &  bequeathed  vnto  the  fd  Town  in  his  Laft  will 
for  ther  vfe,  and  alfo  one  hund.  Pound  more  we  heerby  oblidge 
orfelves  to  Pay  or  Caufe  to  be  paied  vnto  the  fd  Thomas  &  Bar- 
tholomew or  their  Affignes  In  good  Englifh  goods  at  price  Cur- 
rant, and  likewife  to  doe  our  vttmost  that  one  fiffty  pound  of  this 
above  mentioned  paym1  (viz  out  of  the  thre  Hund)  may  be  made 
in  mony  for  the  more  lively  cavfing  an  end  of  the  afforfd  worke. 
The  time  wch  Payment  f hall  be  as  followeth  viz :  one  Hund. 
Pound  at  the  Bringing  of  the  Timber  to  the  Place  A  fecond 
Hund:  at  the  rayfing  A  third  Hund:  at  the  Inclofure  &  Cover- 
ing A  fourth  at  the  finifhing  and  Compleating  vnto  all  thefe 
premifes  abovefd  we  doe  heerby  Joyntly  &  feveraly  mutualy  & 
Interchangeably  bind  orfelves  by  or  hands  &  feales  this  firft  of 
Auguft,  1657. 

We  doe  alfo  engadge  that  the  three  Hund :  pound  in  the  Leg- 
acy above  f d  fhall  be  made  good  vnto  the  fd  workmen  Thomas 
&  Bartholomew. 
Witnefs  heer  vnto 
Joseph  Newgate  Edward  Hutchinson  (seal) 

James  Browne  John  Hull.  (seal) 

Henry  Powning 

The  building  was  made  ten  inches  longer  and  seven 

*  "There  is  to  be  both  Roomes  from  the  chimnies  clofed  on  both  fides  and 
one  Crofs  partition  in  one  of  the  Roomes ;  befide  the  ftair  Cafe." 

[67] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

inches  wider  than  the  original  contract  required  at  an 
extra  cost  of  £69  10s.,  and  there  were  probably  other 
contracts  with  Joy  and  Bernad  for  constructing  this 
"substantial  and  comely  building"  at  a  greater  expense 
than  these  original  estimates.  On  January  28,  1660, 
the  selectmen  voted  that  "  In  reference  to  the  accounts 
of  Tho.  Joy  and  partner  for  the  building  of  the  towne 
house,  stayre  cases  and  Conduit,  and  the  compleating 
of  the  said  worke,  Itt  is  ordered  that  the  Treasurer 
shall  pay  to  the  said  Joy  sixe  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds  (deducting  what  hath  beene  already  paid)  outt 
of  the  Treasury  or  next  Towne  rate ;  whereby  all  con- 
tracts made  with  the  said  Joy  are  performed  as  per  his 
owne  hand  to  a  writing  of  this  date."  Beside  this,  it  will 
be  seen  by  the  contract  that  the  town  found  all  the  iron- 
work, nails,  hooks,  hinges,  &c,  and  all  the  glass,  with 
glazing  and  lead  for  the  gutters,  &c.  The  total  expense 
of  the  building  appears  to  have  been  about  seven  hun- 
dred pounds.  Taking  into  account  the  comparative 
value  of  money  and  the  ability  of  the  people  to  pay, 
this  was  probably  a  greater  proportionate  expense  than 
that  of  any  public  building  since  erected  in  the  Com- 
monwealth. 


[68] 


Colony  and  Town  Uses 
of  the  Town  House 

AS  the  Town  House  was  designed  to  be  used  by  the 
jljl  General  Court  and  other  Courts  of  the  Colony, 
the  selectmen  of  Boston  asked  the  General  Court  to 
aid  in  its  construction,  and  May  19, 1658,  the  General 
Court  ordered  that  "  In  answer  to  the  Selectmen  of 
Boston,  the  court  judgeth  it  meet  to  allow  unto  Bos- 
ton, for  and  towards  the  charges  of  their  town  house, 
Bostons  proportion  of  one  single  country  rate*  for  this 
year  ensuing,  provided  that  sufficient  rooms  in  the 
said  house  shall  be  forever  free  for  the  keeping  of  all 
Courts,  and  also  that  the  place  underneath  shall  be  free 
for  all  inhabitants  in  this  jurisdiction  to  make  use  of 
as  a  market  forever,  without  payment  of  any  toll  or 
tribute  whatsoever." 

In  accordance  with  this  provision,  the  right  of  the 
town  to  use  the  Town  House  was  always  regarded  as 
subject  to  its  use  for  the  courts  and  the  General  Court. 

July  19,  1704,  the  town  record  shows  that  it  was 
"Ordered  that  the  Town  Clerk  give  out  warrants  to 
Call  a  Town  meeting  on  the  20th.  Instr  at  8  a  Clock  in 
ye  morning  for  the  Townes  right  in  ye  Flats  &.  the  Sd. 
meeting  being  warned  was  prevented  to  convene  by 
reason  of  ye  Tryall  of  ye  Pirates."  The  town  meetings, 
as  a  rule,  were  held  in  the  Town  House,  but  occasion- 
ally in  the  meeting-house,  when  the  Town  House  was 
occupied  by  the  General  Court.  Sewall  records  that 

*  Country  rate,  that  is,  colony  tax  for  general  colony  purposes.  See  Colonial 
Laws,  1660  (Whitmore  Edition),  p.  135. 

[69] 


The  Story  of  the 

"June  1,  1703,  Town  Meeting  is  held  in  the  old 
Meeting-house  because  of  the  Gen1.  Assembly,  2  p.  m. 
Voters  206." 

The  contract  with  Joy  andBernad  required  the  build- 
ing to  be  completed  in  July,  1658,  but  it  was  not  ready 
for  use  until  some  time  in  the  early  part  of  1659. 
March  28,  1659,  the  following  record  of  the  selectmen 
shows  that  they  were  caring  for  the  safety  of  their  new 
possession.  "Itt  is  ordered  that  no  person,  whether 
watchman  or  any  other,  shall,  att  any  time,  take  tobacco, 
or  bring  lighted  match,  or  fire  underneath  or  aboutt 
any  part  of  the  towne  house  except  in  case  of  military 
exercise,  upon  the  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  for  every 
such  offence,  except  under  covert  for  the  use  of  the 
house  above." 

Special  orders  were  given  to  the  "  Watch "  for  the 
security  of  the  Town  House.  The  duties  of  these 
guardians  of  the  town  were  set  forth  with  precision 
every  night,  and  the  whole  order  is  so  quaint  and  so 
amusingly  suggestive  of  the  commands  given  by  the 
inimitable  Dogberry  under  similar  circumstances,  that 
it  may  well  find  a  place  here.  It  runs,  in  part,  as  follows : 

A  charge  shall  be  giuen  verballie,  or  read  vnto  the  watch  euery 
night.  The  Form  of  Charge.  1.  That  they  Silentlie  but  vigilantlie 
walke  theire  seuerall  turnes  in  the  seuerall  quarters  and  partes  of 
the  Towne,  two  by  two,  a  youth  allwayes  joyned  with  an  elder 
and  more  sober  person,  &  two  be  allwayes  about  the  markitt  place. 

If  they  finde  any  younge  men,  Maydes,  women  or  other  per- 
sons, not  of  knowne  fidelitie,  &  vpon  lawfull  occation  walkeing 
after  10  of  the  clocke  at  night  that  they  modestly  demand  the 
cause  of  theire  being  abroad,  &  if  it  apeare  that  they  are  vpon 
ille  minded  imploym*  then  to  watch  them  narrowlye  &  to  com- 

[70] 


m 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

mand  them  to  repaire  to  theire  lodginges,  &  in  case  they  obsti- 
nately refuse  to  giue  a  rationall  accompt  of  theire  busines,  ore 
to  repaire  home,  then  to  secure  them  vntill  the  morninge. 

For  as  much  as  the  watch  is  to  see  to  the  regulateinge  of  other 
men  actions  &  manners,  that  theirefore  they  be  exemplary  them- 
selues  neither  vseing  any  vncleane  or  corrupt  language,  now  vn- 
manerlye  or  vnbeseming  tearmes  vnto  any,  but  that  they  be- 
haue  themselues  soe  that  any  person  of  quallitye,  ore  strangers 
yl  ar  vpon  occation  abroad  late,  may  acknowledge  that  or  watch 
neglects  not  due  examination,  nor  offers  any  iust  cause  of  prou- 
cation. 

That  the  Towne  house  be  in  a  spetiall  manner  regarded  by  ye 
watch  to  see  yt  none  take  tobacco  or  vse  any  fire  vnder  or  about 
the  same. 

There  is  no  picture  of  any  kind  now  known  to  exist 
of  this  building  which  was  made  while  it  was  standing. 
But  drawings  were  made  for  me  under  the  direction 
of  the  eminent  architect,  G.  F.  Shepley,  from  the  ori- 
ginal building  contract.  These  doubtless  give  a  substan- 
tially correct  view  of  the  Town  House  as  it  appeared 
from  the  west  and  the  east,  and  also  give  floor  plans  of 
the  building,  and  are  here  reproduced. 

From  the  materials  at  hand  in  the  records  of  the 
time,  I  have  tried  to  compare  the  building  with  the 
present  Old  State  House,  and  to  show  the  peculiarities 
of  its  various  parts  and  the  uses  of  each  of  them.  The 
building  stood,  as  the  present  Old  State  House  building 
stands,  wholly  within  the  original  lines  of  the  street, 
with  a  portion  of  the  street  surrounding  it  on  all  sides. 
The  west  wall  of  the  present  building  is  fifteen  feet 
from  the  line  of  Washington  Street  at  the  south  side 
of  the  building,  and  eight  feet  from  Washington  Street 
at  the  north  side.  This  leaves  a  triangular  portion  of 

[71  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

State  Street  between  the  easterly  line  of  Washington 
Street  and  the  westerly  line  of  the  State  House  and  the 
buildings  on  the  south  side  of  the  street,  and  the  build- 
ings on  the  point  of  the  triangle  touching  the  build- 
ings on  the  north  side  of  the  street  at  the  intersection 
of  Washington  Street.  This  area  is  approximately  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  square  feet. 
The  width  of  State  Street  at  its  junction  with  Wash- 
ington Street  is  one  hundred  and  thirteen  feet,  and 
the  width  of  the  street  at  its  junction  with  Devonshire 
Street  is  one  hundred  and  thirteen  and  one-half  feet. 
The  distance  from  Washington  Street  to  Devonshire 
Street  is  approximately  ninety-five  feet  on  the  centre 
line  of  the  street. 

The  present  Old  State  House  is  one  hundred  and 
twelve  feet  long,  thirty-six  feet  wide,  and  fifty-four 
feet  and  six  inches  high  from  the  street  to  the  ridge- 
pole at  the  easterly  end,  and  forty-nine  and  twenty- 
three  one  hundredths  feet  from  the  ridge-pole  to  the 
westerly  end  nearest  Washington  Street.  The  Town 
House  was  forty-five  feet  two  inches  less  in  length  than 
the  present  building,  and  probably  stood  at  least  that 
distance  further  down  or  easterly  on  the  street  than  the 
present  building  stands,  which  made  the  grade  of  the 
street  under  the  Town  House  less  steep  than  the  grade 
of  the  street  under  the  present  building,  and  the  space 
underneath,  therefore,  easily  used  for  a  market-place. 

From  the  provisions  of  the  building  contract  we  are 
able  to  ascertain  the  dimensions  of  the  building  and 
substantially  its  exterior  construction  and  appearance. 
It  was  sixty-six  feet  ten  inches  long  and  thirty-six  feet 

[  W  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

seven  inches  wide.  It  was  constructed  of  wood,  the 
sides  and  ends  of  three-inch  and  two-inch  plank  "well 
grooved  into  one  another,*'  and  it  stood  on  twenty-one 
wooden  pillars  ten  feet  high  between  pedestal  and  capi- 
tal, which  made  the  lower  floor  probably  from  twelve 
and  a  half  to  thirteen  or  fourteen  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  ground  beneath.  The  lower  floor  was  reached  by 
stairs  from  the  level  of  the  street  and  projected  three 
feet  outside  of  the  pillars  on  all  sides  of  the  building. 
The  height  of  the  first  story  above  the  first  floor  was 
ten  feet,  and  above  that  story  there  was  a  half  story 
with  three  gable  ends  upon  each  side  of  the  building,  in 
which  there  were  windows,  and  there  were  chimneys  at 
each  end  of  the  building.  Upon  the  top  of  the  building 
there  was  a  walk  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  wide,  with  rails 
around  it,  and  in  the  top  of  the  roof  there  were  two  tur- 
rets. With  the  exception,  however,  of  the  reference  in 
the  contract  to  "Two  paire  halfe  paced  stakes  &  turned 
staires  vp  into  the  walke,"  and  in  a  note  to  the  contract 
that  "there  is  to  be  both  Koomes  from  the  chimnies 
closed  on  both  sides  and  one  Cross  partition  in  one  of 
the  Roomes ;  beside  the  stair  case,"  there  is  no  accurate 
information  as  to  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  build- 
ing; and  the  information  as  to  the  arrangement  and  use 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  building  is  so  meagre  and 
widely  scattered  in  the  scanty  records  of  the  time  that 
different  persons  may  well  reach  different  conclusions. 
From  what  study  I  have  been  able  to  make,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  when  the  building  was  constructed 
the  space  under  it  on  the  street  level  was  the  market- 
place, and  the  first  floor,  reached  by  stairs  from  the 

[73] 


The  Story  of  the 

street  at  either  end,  was  the  Exchange,  while  the  upper 
rooms,  on  the  second  floor,  were  for  the  courts,  the  li- 
brary, and  the  use  of  the  selectmen.  The  following  are 
the  records  and  facts  I  have  found  bearing  upon  the 
matter.  The  order  of  the  General  Court  on  May  19, 
1658,  making  contribution  by  the  Colony  toward  the 
Town  House  provided  that  "The  place  underneath  shall 
be  free  for  all  inhabitants  in  this  jurisdiction  to  make 
use  of  for  a  market  forever,  without  payment  of  any 
toll  or  tribute  whatsoever."  This  language  would  hardly 
have  been  used  of  a  room  or  an  exchange,  but  was  par- 
ticularly appropriate  to  the  use  of  that  portion  of  the 
street  under  the  Town  House  for  a  market,  for  which 
the  space  had  been  used  before  the  building  was  con- 
structed. It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  when  the  town 
allowed  the  use  of  this  "place"  for  private  purposes,  it 
was  never  described  as  the  "Exchange."  In  the  first 
lease  made  of  a  portion  of  it  to  Robert  Gibbs  in  1665, 
the  language  was  a  "lease  for  the  Seller  under  the 
Town  House,"  and  when  in  1664  the  town  provided 
for  a  watch-house  under  the  stairs  at  the  east  end  of 
the  Town  House,  the  space  was  spoken  of  as  the 
"Town  Seller."  An  order  of  the  selectmen  of  July  25, 
1664,  also  indicates  that  the  Exchange  was  a  room  in 
the  Town  House  and  not  the  place  under  the  Town 
House  where  the  market  was  held.  The  order  was : 

For  the  more  convenient  and  exspeditious  dispatch  of  Mar- 
chants  affayres  or  any  other,  relateing  to  strangers  and  our  In- 
habitants. 

Itt  is  ordered  that  the  Bell  shall  be  runge  att  all  of  ye  Clocke 
euery  workeing  day  to  giue  notis  thereof  to  all  persons  con- 
cernned  and  that  the  ringer  shall  be  allowed  12d  p.  yeare  by 

[74  j 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

euery  parson  that  comonly  resort  there  vnto  and  that  they  may 
assemble  in  the  Rome  vnder  the  Towne  house,  for  the  space  of 
one  hower  for  the  ends  aboue  expressed. 

In   1709  the  Exchange  was   called   the   "Lower 

room."  May  6,  1709,  we  find  this  order: 

The  Select  men  do  order  that  no  Inclosure  or  partition  be  made 
or  Sett  up  on  the  Exchange  or  Lower  room  under  the  Town  House 
without  their  Approbation  &  consent.  And  Mr  James  Maxwell  is 
for  bid  to  Leave  open  &  unlockd  by  night  the  doors  of  the  Stair 
cases  without  their  order. 

At  this  time  the  upper  rooms  were  occupied  for  the 
courts,  the  library,  and  the  meetings  of  the  selectmen 
and  other  town  officers,  and  therefore  the  large  room 
below  was  properly  called  the  "Lower  room."  The 
order  that  the  doors  of  the  staircases  should  not  be 
left  open  and  unlocked  at  night  shows  that  the  Ex- 
change was  not  the  place  under  the  Town  House  on 
a  level  with  the  street,  but  the  first-floor  room  reached 
by  these  stairs  at  the  top  of  which  were  doors  opening 
into  the  room.  The  orders  for  the  maintenance  and  re- 
pair of  the  staircases  also  show  that  they  were  not  un- 
der the  building  and  sheltered  from  the  weather,  but 
outside  of  it,  at  each  end,  exposed  to  the  weather,  so 
that  in  time  it  became  necessary  to  protect  them  by  a 
covering  of  lead. 

There  may  have  been  doors  at  the  bottom  of  these 
staircases  as  well  as  at  the  top,  but  there  could  not 
have  been  doors  in  the  space  under  the  building  on  a 
level  with  the  street,  for  no  staircases  existed  in  that 
space.  The  purpose  of  the  order  of  May  6,  1709,  evi- 
dently was  to  protect  the  Exchange,  not  only  by  pro- 
viding that  no  persons  should  put  up  any  partitions, 

[75  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

but  also  by  locking  the  doors  of  the  staircases,  so  that 
it  could  not  be  entered  by  anybody  at  night. 

Again,  Sewall  records  that  when  he  was  captain  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  June  2, 
1701,  the  election  was  in  the  Town  House,  and  that 
he  "called  down  the  Council  out  of  the  chamber  and 
they  set  their  chairs  below,"  indicating  that  the  Coun- 
cil Chamber  was  on  the  second  floor  of  the  building. 

That  the  courts  were  held  in  the  second  story  is 
shown  by  various  writings  and  records  of  the  time. 
In  an  account  of  a  visit  to  Boston  by  John  Josselyn, 
published  in  1675,  he  says  that  Boston  has  "a  Town- 
House  built  upon  pillars,  where  the  merchants  may 
confer.  In  their  chambers  above  they  keep  their 
monthly  courts." 

So  Dunton  writing  of  it  in  1685  said:  "Their  Town 

House  is  built  upon  Pillars  in  the  middle  of  the  Town, 

where  the  merchants  meet  and  confer  every  day.  In 

the  chambers  above  they  keep  their  monthly  courts." 

The  position  of  these  chambers  is  made  clear  by  the 

following  order  of  the  selectmen,  December  22,  1708: 

Ordered  that  a  convenient  place  be  made  in  one  of  the  little 
roomes  between  the  two  chambers  in  the  Town  House  convenient 
for  Lodging  writeings  wth  paper,  Quill,  Inck,  pen- knife  with 
other  Nessessaryes  convenient  to  be  Kept  und  Lock  an  Key  there 
for  the  use  of  the  Select  men. 

These  "little  roomes"  were  obviously  used  by  the 
selectmen  and  other  town  officials,  while  the  "two 
chambers"  were  used,  one  by  the  governor  and  coun- 
cil, and  the  other  by  the  deputies,  and  in  them  were 
also  held  the  colony  courts.  An  examination  of  the 

[76] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

condition  at  that  time  shows  that  the  east  and  west 
chambers  were  large  enough  for  these  purposes. 

Under  the  charter  of  1691,  the  councillors  would 
have  had  ample  accommodation  in  either  one  of  these 
chambers,  and  during  most  of  the  time  the  deputies 
could  have  been  accommodated  in  either  one  of  the 
rooms,  though  it  is  quite  likely  that  when  the  num- 
ber arose  to  seventy  and  over,  as  it  did  beginning 
about  1700,  the  deputies  met  in  the  large  room  below. 

The  town  meetings  were  doubtless  held  in  the  large 
room,  but  the  number  of  voters  while  the  Town  House 
was  used  was  not  very  large.  Sewall  records  that  on 
May  9,  1698,  three  hundred  and  forty  votes  were 
cast,  which,  he  says,  was  the  largest  vote  he  had  ever 
known.  May  11,  1696,  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
votes  were  cast  at  town  meeting;  May  8,  1699,  three 
hundred  and  twenty-three;  April  27,  1703,  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-four;  June  1,  1703,  two  hundred  and 
six;  and  April  29,  1709,  two  hundred  and  four.  I 
think  it  probable,  therefore,  that  the  lower  floor  was 
reached  by  stairs  from  the  street  and  was  wholly  occu- 
pied by  one  large  room  about  sixty-five  feet  long  and 
thirty-five  feet  wide,  which  was  called  the  "Exchange." 
Here  the  merchants  met  and  also,  perhaps,  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  when  the  council  and  the  deputies  met 
together,  as  they  did  at  the  close  of  each  session, 
and  occasionally  at  other  times.  This  room  was  also 
doubtless  used  for  town  meetings  and  for  any  large 
gathering  of  the  townsmen  or  inhabitants.  The  second 
floor  was  reached  from  the  first  by  stairs  at  either  end, 
and  had  a  room  at  either  end,  each  occupying  some- 

[77  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

thing  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire  floor.  Between 
these  rooms  there  was  a  passageway  from  the  one  to  the 
other,  and  on  each  side  of  this  was  a  small  room  with 
doors  opening  into  the  two  end  rooms.  From  the  cen- 
tre of  this  passageway  a  flight  of  stairs  led  to  the  roof. 

There  were  chimneys  at  each  end  of  the  building,  and 
fireplaces  at  each  end  of  the  large  room  on  the  first  floor, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  east  and  west  rooms  on  the  second 
floor.  The  deputies  met  in  the  room  in  the  east  end  and 
the  council  met  in  the  room  in  the  west  end  on  the 
second  floor.  Sewall  notes  that  Ratcliffe,  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  was  granted  for  the  service  of 
the  Church  "ye  East  end  of  ye  Town  House  where  ye 
Deputies  use  to  meet."  This  room  was  also  used  for 
the  library.  The  records  of  King's  Chapel  show  that 
prayers  were  said  "in  the  Library  chamber  in  ye  town 
house." 

The  dimensions  of  these  rooms  at  the  east  and  west 
ends  of  the  second  floor  cannot  be  accurately  deter- 
mined; but  they  were  certainly  at  least  thirty-six  feet 
in  width.  If  they  were  each  twenty-five  feet  long,  there 
would  have  been  left  for  the  "little  rooms"  and  the  pas- 
sageway between  a  space  of  at  least  fifteen  by  thirty-six 
feet,  and  each  end  room  would  have  had  an  area  of  nine 
hundred  square  feet.  This  area  was  quite  sufficient  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  governor  and  council  in  one 
room,  as  by  the  Charter  the  Court  of  Assistants  could 
not  exceed  eighteen  in  number,  and  in  fact  only  four- 
teen were  elected  before  1679.  The  number  of  deputies 
chosen  at  that  period  was  from  thirty  to  forty,  all  of 
whom  could  have  been  comfortably  accommodated  in 

[78] 


D 


— 


SyUr^it  ^J'liu 


□ 


1 


1 


QXexumjoL .  flocn- 


l  i  l 


Hi. 


I 


□ 


^Jlan  (>/ \JJxKitim^^x>urrL^J\joiMU' 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

a  room  twenty-five  by  thirty-six  feet.  Only  thirty-three 
deputies  appear  to  have  been  returned  from  the  towns 
to  the  first  General  Court  held  in  the  Town  House 
May  11, 1659,  and  at  the  second  session  in  May,  1660, 
there  were  only  thirty-five.  From  a  list  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society  Col- 
lections it  appears  that  from  1658  to  1679,  inclusive, 
the  number  of  deputies  who  met  varied  from  twenty- 
nine  in  1678  to  forty-six  in  1669,  the  average  being 
thirty-nine. 


[79] 


Shops 
Under  and  About  the  Town  House 

THE  steps  which  led  from  the  street  to  the  floor  of 
the  Town  House  at  the  west  end  left  a  space  under 
them  which  was  available  for  a  shop,  and  as  the  towns- 
men were  thrifty  folk  they  soon  began  to  use  this  space 
for  revenue. 

The  town  records  show  that : 

June  24, 1661,  Itt  is  Ordered  yt  Rich:  Taylor  shall  enjoy  ye  shop 
vnder  ye  stayres  att  ye  west  end  of  ye  Towne-house  during  his  life 
&  his  wiues  life,  paying  yeyearely  rent  of  30s.,  ye  one  halfe  in  mony, 
ye  other  in  goods  or  corne,  hee  fitting  vp  ye  sd  shop  att  his  owne 
charge,  &  ye  sd  shop  to  bee  left  after  their  death  wth  all  ye  ap- 
purtenances to  ye  Townes  vse  wthoutt  any  consideration  from  ye 
Towne.  And  ye  reason  of  taking  no  more  Rent  is,  because  his 
charge  of  fitting  vp  ye  sd  shop  amounts  to  £10. 

February  24,  1661/62,  Vpon  the  complaint  of  Rich :  Taylour  of 
the  greatnes  of  his  charge  vpon  the  shop  at  the  foot  of  the  Towne 
house  staires,  it  is  agreed  that  there  shall  bee  an  abatement  of 
10s.  aiiually  vpon  the  rent  formerly  agreed  the  24  (4)  last  past. 

The  selectmen  voted  as  follows: 

September  26, 1664,  Itt  is  Ordered  that  the  East  end  of  the  Towne 
seller  vnder  the  Stayer  Casse  shall  be  for  a  watch  house  for  the 
townes  vse.  Itt  is  Agreed  in  consideratio  thereof  to  Allow  Thomas 
Lake  and  Hezekiah  Vsher  £6.  p.  Annu  and  to  be  att  the  chardge 
of  the  present  repaire  &  fitting  the  sd  seller  for  the  vse  befor  men- 
tioned, And  in  case  the  Towne  after  2  yeares  vse  of  the  same 
see  cause  to  giue  it  vpp  into  the  hands  of  the  parsons  befor  men- 
tioned of  whome  the  Towne  hath  rented  it,  allowing  the  Chardg 
they  haue  ben  at  deliuering  it  vp,  in  good  repaire  the  Rent  that 
shall  be  recieued  to  be  repayed  back  againe. 

The  records  of  the  selectmen  state : 
February  29, 1665,  This  day  a  lease  signed  for  the  Seller  vnder 

[81  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

the  Towne  house  to  Mr  Robert  Gibbs,  for  51  Yeares,  begining  the 
25  of  March  last,  payeing  5s.  in  siluer  to  the  Towne  Treasuer  one 
the  1st  of  March  yearely. 

August  23,  1669,  At  a  publique  mee tinge  of  the  inhabitants 
warned  from  house  to  house  Vpon  a  motion  of  Richard  Taylors 
to  haue  his  Lease  of  his  shop  vnder  the  towne  house  granted  to 
him  for  a  longer  time.  It  was  left  to  the  select  men  if  they  saw  fit, 
to  agree  with  him  about  it. 

The  selectmen's  records  show: 

November  29, 1669,  Accordinge  to  a  vote  of  the  towne  the  23 
of  6  mo.  1669  The  select  men  agreed  with  Richard  Taylor  about 
his  shop  vnder  the  towne  house.  That  sd  Taylor  and  his  assignes 
shall  enjoy  the  sd  shop  for  the  space  of  61  yeares  next  ensueinge. 
In  consideration  whereof  he  hath  now  put  it  into  good  repaire  & 
paid  7£.  as  a  fine,  and  is  obliged  &  to  keep  the  same  in  good  re- 
paire &  to  pay  20s.  p.  annum  to  the  treasurer  of  the  towne  duringe 
the  said  terme. 

November  26, 1675,  John  Taylor,  the  son  and  heir  of 

Richard  Taylor,  assigned  to  James  Maxfield  of  Boston: 

The  small  shop  under  the  stairs  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  Town 
House  (the  westermost  shop,  under  the  stairs)  paying  to  the  se- 
lectmen of  Boston  20  shillings  a  year  (10  in  lawful  money  and 
ten  corn  or  provisions)  and  to  John  Taylor  five  shillings. 

In  1677  Henry  Phillips  opened  a  book-shop  under 
the  stairs  at  the  west  end  of  the  Town  House  in  the 
Taylor  shop.  Here  he  published  and  sold  one  of  Ma- 
ther's sermons: 

Renewal  of  Covenant  the  great  Duty  incumbent  on  decaying 
or  distressed  Churches.  A  sermon  Concerning  Renewing  of  Cov- 
enant with  God  in  Christ,  Preached  at  Dorchester  in  New  Eng- 
land the  21  day  of  the  1  month  1677,  being  a  day  of  Humili- 
ation there,  on  that  Occasion.  By  Increase  Mather,  Teacher  of  a 
Church  in  Boston.  Boston,  Printed  by  J.  F.  for  Henry  Phillips, 
and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  Shop  in  the  West  end  of  the  Town- 
house in  Boston,  1677. 

[82  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

I  find  no  record  of  any  further  use  of  the  space  un- 
der the  Town  House  for  private  purposes  until  Octo- 
ber 28, 1686,  when  the  records  of  the  selectmen  show 
that  such  use  had  been  made  and  was  continued.  The 
record  is: 

Let  to  John  Hay  ward  of  Bostone  Notary  or  his  Assignes  the 
small  Shop  or  roome  that  is  scituate  and  beinge  in  the  Towne 
house,  at  the  westerlie  end  thereof,  late  in  the  tenure  and  occu- 
pation of  Nath11  Barnes,  as  now  inclosed  he  payinge  therefore  10s. 
p  an  in  mony  for  the  terme  of  21  yeares  from  this  28th.  day  of 
Octr.  1686  as  by  Lease  thereof  doe  more  fullie  apeare. 

Benjamin  Eliot  appears  to  have  had  a  book-shop  un- 
der the  west  end  of  the  Town  House  in  1699.  The  "Acts 
and  Laws  of  His  Majesties  Province  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  in  New  England  "  states  on  its  title-page 
that  it  was  "  Printed  for  and  sold  by  Michael  Perry  at 
his  shop  over  against  the  Town-House,  and  Benjamin 
Eliot  under  the  West  End  of  the  Town-House,  1699." 
On  June  28,  1703,  the  record  shows  that  the  town 
"granted  to  Benja  Eliot  the  Shop  under  the  Town 
House  formerly  Let  to  John  Howard,  Scribener,  de- 
ceaced,  for  the  Term  of  Seven  years  from  this  day  at 
40  Shill.  p.  annum,  June  28th.  ye  dementions  are  wth. 
inside  9  foot,  8  inches  in  length  &  4  foot  lj  inches  in 
breadth." 

In  1709  the  entire  space  under  the  west  end  of  the 
Town  House  appears  to  have  been  devoted  by  the  town 
to  business  purposes  for  revenue.  The  town  records 
show  that  on  January  24,  1709,  it  was  "Voted,  by  the 
Select  men  that  the  Sume  of  fifteen  pounds  Sixteen 
Shillings  wch  the  Treasur  Lately  reed  for  Dockage  of 

[83] 


The  Story  of  the 

ye  Ship  whereof  Cap*  Flint  is  master  Shall  be  Layd 
out  in  inclosing  &  fritting  up  Shops  under  the  Shead 
at  the  westerly  quarter  of  the  Town  House  in  order  to 
bring  in  Rent  for  the  Town."  Then  follow  records  of 
leases  of  the  shops  thus  filled  up  as  follows : 

Aprill  4th  (1709).  The  Select  men  have  this  Day  Lett  unto 
Mary  Bithin  the  Easter  most  of  the  New  Shopps  under  the  Town 
House  at  three  pounds  p  Annum,  She  haveing  paid  down  the 
first  quarters  rent  in  hand  and  is  to  pay  the  Succeeding  rent  at 
the  beginning  of  each  quarter. 

Aprill  18.  (1709)  The  Select  men  have  now  Lett  to  Eliezur 
Phillips  of  Boston  Booke  Seller,  the  two  new  Shops  at  the  west- 
erly Corner  of  the  Town  House  for  one  year  at  Seven  pounds  p 
Annum  from  this  day. 

The  renting  of  shops  under  the  Town  House  ap- 
pears to  have  been  profitable  to  the  town,  for  Febru- 
ary 13,  1710,  it  was  "Voted.  That  the  Shead  on  the 
Southly  Quarter  of  ye  Town  House  from  ye  middle  door 
as  far  down  as  ye  Cellar  door  be  made  into  Shops,  in 
order  to  Augment  the  Town  Rents."  At  a  meeting  of 
ye  Sel.  men  Apr11 1710,  it  was  voted  "The  Select  men 
have  Lett  unto  Mr  Jabish  Negus,  the  Shop  on  ye  South 
Side  of  y*  Town  House  between  ye  Shops  of  Elizur 
Phillips  &  the  Shop  of  Mary  Bithin  at  three  pounds  p 
annum  to  commence  the  17th  of  Aprill  currV 

April  2,  1711,  the  selectmen's  records  show  that  it 
was  "Agreed  to  Lett  unto  Jeremiah  Belknap  a  Shop 
extending  from  y6  door  way  to  the  Soly  corner  of  ye 
Town  House  wch  is  to  be  Erected  there,  for  the  Term 
of  Seven  years  to  Comence  the  first  of  June  next,  and 
for  the  first  years  rent  he  is  to  be  at  ye  charge  of  build- 
ing ye  Sd  Shop,  &;  to  pay  ten  pounds  p  annum  quarterly 

[84  1 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

for  ye  next  6  years,  he  to  maintain  &  deliver  up  y6  Same 
in  Good  repair e." 

On  July  2,  1711,  notices  were  ordered  to  be  posted 
for  letting  the  new  shops  on  the  north  side  of  the  Town 
House.  These  shops  from  their  being  in  the  centre  of 
the  town  were  much  sought  after,  and  in  July,  1711, 
the  space  under  the  Town  House  appears  to  have  been 
enclosed  on  the  north  and  south  sides  and  on  the  west 
end  by  shops,  the  watch-house  being  on  the  east  end. 
Some  of  these  shops  were  occupied  at  various  times  by 
Henry  Phillips,  Samuel  Phillips,  Michael  Perry,  Ben- 
jamin Eliot  and  Eleazer  Phillips,  well-known  book- 
sellers. 

The  Town  House  thus  became  the  centre  of  the 
printing,  publishing,  and  book-selling  business  of  the 
town.  About  thirty  booksellers  were  located  in  its  im- 
mediate vicinity,  some  of  their  shops  being  under  the 
Town  House  itself,  others  opposite,  either  on  the  street 
in  which  the  Town  House  stood,  or  on  the  Corn-Hill, 
between  Prison  Lane  and  the  meeting-house  which 
stood  where  the  Rogers  Building  on  Washington  Street 
now  stands.  This  appears  by  the  following,  among  other, 
imprints  of  books  of  the  time : 

The  Doctrine  of  Divine  Providence,  opened  and  apply ed.  By 
Increase  Mather.  Printed  by  Richard  Pierce  for  Joseph  Brun- 
ning,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  Shop  at  the  Corner  of  Prison-Lane 
next  the  Exchange.  1684. 

An  Almanack  of  Coelestial  Motions  for  the  Year  of  the  Chris- 
tian Epocha,  1681 Calculated  for  the  Meridian  of  Boston  in 

New  England,  where  the  Arctick  Pole  is  elevated  42  Degrees  & 
30  Minutes.  By  John  Foster,  Astrophil.  Boston :  printed  by  J.  F. 
for  Samuel  Phillips  in  the  west  end  of  the  Exchange.  1681. 

[85] 


The  Story  of  the 

The  Short  History  of  New  England,  A  Recapitulation  of 
Wonderful  Passages  which  have  Occurr'd, — First,  in  the  Pro- 
tections, and  then  in  the  Afflictions,  of  New  England.  With  A 
Representation  of  Certain  Matters  Calling  for  the  Singular  At- 
tention of  that  Country.  Made  at  Boston  Lecture,  in  the  Audience 
of  the  Great  and  General  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts-Bay, June  7,  1694.  By  Cotton  Mather.  Printed  by 
B.  Green,  for  Samuel  Phillips,  at  the  Brick  Shop,  at  the  West 
End  of  the  Exchange,  1694. 

Heaven's  Alarm  to  the  World,  Or  a  Sermon  wherein  is  shewed 
that  fearful  Sights  and  Signs  in  Heaven  are  presages  of  great 
calamities  at  hand.  Preached  at  the  Lecture  of  Boston  in  New 
England  :  January  20, 1680.  By  Increase  Mather.  To  be  sold  by 
Joseph  Browning  at  the  Corner  of  the  Prison  Lane  next  the 
Town-House,  1682. 

An  Essay  for  the  recording  of  Illustrious  Providences :  wherein 
an  account  is  given  of  many  Remarkable  and  very  Memorable 
Events,  which  have  happened  this  last  age:  especially  in  New 
England.  By  Increase  Mather.  Printed  by  Samuel  Green  for 
Joseph  Browning  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  Shop  at  the  Corner 
of  the  Prison-Lane  next  the  Town-House,  1684. 

Memorable  Providences  relating  to  Witchcrafts  and  Posses- 
sions. A  faithful  Account  of  many  wonderful  and  surprising 
Things,  that  have  befallen  several  bewitched  and  possessed  per- 
sons in  New  England.  Particularly  a  Narrative  of  the  marvellous 
Trouble  and  Relief  experienced  by  a  pious  family  in  Boston,  very 
lately  and  sadly  molested  with  Evil  Spirits.  Whereunto  is  added, 
a  Discourse  delivered  unto  a  Congregation  in  Boston,  on  the 
occasion  of  that  Illustrious  Providence.  As  also  A  Discourse  de- 
livered unto  the  same  Congregation  on  the  occasion  of  an  horrible 
self-murder  committed  in  the  Town.  With  an  Appendix  in  vin- 
dication of  a  Chapter  in  a  late  Book  of  Remarkable  Providences, 
from  the  calumnies  of  a  Quaker  at  Pennsilvania.  Written  by 
Cotton  Mather,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  and  recommended  by  the 
Ministers  of  Boston  and  Charleston.  Printed  at  Boston  in  New 
England  by  R.  P.  1689.  Sold  by  Joseph  Brunning,  at  his  Shop 
at  the  corner  of  the  Prison  Lane  next  the  Exchange. 

[86] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

The  imprint  of  the  eighth  edition  of  the  Bay  Psalm 
Book  reads:  "Printed  for  Samuel  Phillips  at  the  Brick 
Shop  near  the  Town-House,  1695;"  and  of  the  ninth 
edition:  "Printed  by  B.  Green  and  John  Allen  for  Mi- 
chael Perry  under  the  West  End  of  the  Town  House. 
1698."  Richard  Wilkins,  the  first  postmaster  of  Boston, 
opened  a  bookshop  "opposite  the  West  end  of  the 
Town-House,"  and  when  he  published  "Man's  Chiefe 
End  to  Glorify  God,  by  the  Rev.  John  Bailey,"  it  was 
imprinted.  "To  be  sold  by  Richard  Wilkins,  Book- 
seller near  the  Town  House,  Anno  1689." 


[87] 


Repair  of  the  Town  House 

THE  effect  of  the  severe  New  England  climate 
upon  the  wooden  structure  of  the  Town  House 
was  evidently  injurious,  for  in  less  than  ten  years 
after  the  completion  of  it,  the  records  show  that  repairs 
upon  it  became  necessary.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the 
careful  apportioning  of  expense  to  the  town,  the  county, 
and  the  province. 

In  October,  1667,  the  General  Court  made  an  order 
for  the  repair  of  the  Town  House  as  follows : 

For  the  necessary,  full,  &  suiteable  repaire  of  the  Toune  or 
Court  House  in  Boston,  founded  by  the  late  Capt  Robert  Keayne, 
it  is  ordered  by  this  Court,  that  the  selectmen  of  Boston  shall 
&  hereby  are  desired  &  impowred  as  a  comittee  to  see  to  &  or- 
der the  same  wth  all  convenient  speede,  the  chardge  whereof  is  to 
be  borne  &  defrajed  the  one  clere  halfe  by  the  Treasurer  of  the 
country,  one  fowerth  part  thereof  by  the  Treasurer  of  ye  county 
of  Suffolke,  &  the  other  fourth  part  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  toune 
of  Boston. 

Again,  in  October,  1670,  another  order  was  passed 
for  the  repair  of  the  Town  House,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  Court,  being  informed  &  finding  that  the  toune  house  is 
very  much  wanting  of  repajre,  &  by  reason  thereof  is  very  dan- 
gerous, judge  meete  to  appoint  Mr  Thomas  Danforth,  Mr  An- 
thony Stoddard,  &  Mr  Willjam  Parkes,  a  comittee  to  vejw  the 
same,  &  make  report  to  this  Court  of  what  they  judge  most  ne- 
cessary is  to  be  don  for  the  so  repayring  thereof,  as  all  danger  may 
be  prevented,  &  the  house  preserved. 

September  16,  1685,  the  General  Court  passed  this 
order : 

The  Court,  considering  the  necessity  of  couering  the  west  stajre 

[89] 


The  Story  of  the 

case  of  the  toune  house  with  lead, — the  wooden  couering,  being 
deficient,  letts  in  the  rajne,  wch  decays  the  majne  timber  thereof, 
— it  is  ordered,  that  it  be  donn  wth  all  speed,  &  that  the  Trea- 
surer defray  the  charge  thereof  vpon  the  countrys  accompt,  &  the 
rather  in  regard  the  toune  of  Boston  haue  long  since  couered  the 
east  stajre  case  of  sd  house  at  their  oune  cost  &  charges. 

Sewall  also  notes  in  his  diary:  "Thursday,  Septem- 
ber 17, 1685,  the  Generall  Court  Voted  that  the  West 
end  of  the  Town-House  be  secured  with  Lead  at  the 
Country's  Charge." 

On  November  25,  1693,  the  General  Court  passed 
the  following  Act: 

-Whereas  the  town  house  in  Boston,  within  the  county  of  Suf- 
folk, has  formerly  been,  and  is  still  continued  to  be  made  use  of 
for  the  holding  of  councils,  courts  of  judicature  and  other  pub- 
lick  assemblies  for  the  whole  province,  and  has  been  accustomed 
to  be  upheld  and  repaired  in  part  at  the  charge  of  the  late  colony 
of  the  Massachusetts,  part  at  the  charge  of  the  said  county,  and 
part  at  the  charge  of  the  said  town, — 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Governour,  Council  and  Representatives 
in  General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 

That  the  charges  of  repairing  the  said  house  be  from  time  to 
time  continued,  to  be  answered  and  paid  in  proportion  following ; 
that  is  to  say,  one-half  part  thereof  out  of  the  publick  revenue  of 
the  province,  one-quarter  part  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  said 
county,  and  the  other  quarter  part  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  said 
town.  And  the  selectmen  of  Boston,  from  time  to  time,  as  there 
shall  be  need,  are  to  take  care  that  the  said  house  be  sufficiently 
repaired,  and  to  lay  the  accompt  of  the  charge  before  the  gover- 
nour and  council,  as  also  before  the  justices  in  quarter  sessions, 
that  so  orders  may  be  respectively  given  as  well  for  payment  of 
the  part  thereof  belonging  to  the  province,  as  that  belonging  to 
the  county,  according  to  this  act. 

In  1696-7  the  following  account  was  rendered  by  the 
town  treasurer  of  Boston : 

[90] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

An  Accolt  of  money  Paid  by  the  Town  Treasur  of  Boston  by 
ordr  of  ye.  Select  men  of  sd  Town  to  defray  Charges  belonging  to 
the  Townhouse  One  halfe  part  of  sd  Charges  is  to  be  reimbursted 
by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Province  by  vertue  of  an  Act  of  General 
Assembly  &cl 

To  Cash  pd  William  Manly  for  paveing  about 

the  Town  House  as  P  his  Accolt  39       8 

To  Ditto  Manly  for  new  paveing  what  was  taken 

up  in  the  repaires  of  ye  Townhouse  8 

The  totall  £39       8" 

One  halfe  part  amounts  to  J     19     14 

Jams  Taylor  Treasr :  for  ye 
Town  of  Boston. 

In  due  time  the  General  Court  voted  the  necessary- 
appropriation  by  the  following  Act : 

An  Accompt  of  disbursements  made  by  the  town  treasurer  of 
Boston  for  paving  about  the  town-house  in  Boston,  amounting 
to  the  sum  of  thirty-nine  pounds  eight  shillings,  sent  up  from 
the  representatives,  with  their  vote  thereupon  that  the  one-half 
of  said  accompt,  being  nineteen  pounds  fourteen  shillings,  be  al- 
lowed, and  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury,  pursuant  to  an  act 
of  the  province  for  repairing  of  the  town-house,  was  read  and  a 
concurrance  therewith,  — 

Voted.  (Approved  June  9.) 

In  1697  the  General  Court  made  another  appropria- 
tion as  follows: 

Voted,  That  the  Roome  in  the  Town  house  where  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  this  Province  meet  be  altered  and  fitted  up  so  as  to 
make  it  more  convenient  and  accomodable,  as  the  Justices  and 
Representatives  with  the  Selectmen  of  said  Town  shall  direct  and 
appoint .  .  .  the  Charge  whereof  to  be  paid  one  halfe  out  of  the 
publique  Treasury  of  the  Province,  one  fourth  part  by  the  County 
of  Suffolke,  and  the  other  fourth  by  the  Town  of  Boston  as  is 
provided  by  an  act  of  this  Province  for  defraying  the  charge  of 
repairs  of  sd.  house./'  (Approved  October  30.) 

[91  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Sewall  makes  note  of  these  repairs  in  his  diary  un- 
der date  of  September  8, 1697,  as  follows:  "The  Gov- 
ernour  and  Council  first  meet  in  the  Council-Cham- 
ber, as  it  is  now  fitted  with  sieling,  Glazing,  Painting, 
new  Floor  that  brings  it  to  a  Level ;  New  Hearth  even 
with  it."  Also,  September  10,  1697:  "Twas  dark,  and 
a  Candle  was  brought  in:  Mr.  Woodbridge  went  to 
Prayer,  which  is  the  first  hath  been  made  in  the 
Council  Chamber  since  its  being  very  well  fitted  up 
and  made  new.  Pray'd  that  our  Land-defiling  sins 
might  be  pardon'd ;  and  Land-destroying  Judgments 
remov'd.  Pray'd  that  God  would  be  favourably  with 
us  at  our  next  Meeting.  Court  was  prorogued  to 
fourth-day  Oct1  13.  9.  mane" 


[92] 


General  Uses  which  were  Made 
of  the  Town  House 

THE  Town  House  was  constructed  for  colony  and 
town  uses,  and  upon  its  completion  was  used  for 
sessions  of  the  General  Court  and  of  the  other  courts 
of  the  Colony,  meetings  of  the  governor  and  council 
and  business  of  other  colony  officers,  and  the  keeping 
of  the  colony  records.  It  was  also  used  for  all  the  town 
business,  including  not  only  town  meetings,  but  meet- 
ings of  the  selectmen  and  other  town  officers,  the  keep- 
ing of  the  town  records,  the  public  town  library,  and 
as  we  have  seen  the  space  under  it  was  let  for  shops 
for  town  revenue.  But  the  Town  House,  being  the  only 
large  building  in  Boston  or  the  Colony  except  meet- 
ing-houses, and  the  only  secular  public  building,  was 
also  used  for  a  variety  of  other  purposes,  such  as  an 
armoury  for  the  storage  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war ; 
a  granary  for  the  storage  of  grain  received  in  payment 
of  taxes,  for  the  storage  of  town  and  colony  property; 
a  drill  place  for  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery; 
for  occasions  of  festivities  and  of  public  preaching  and 
prayer,  and  for  any  other  public  purpose  which  could 
not  be  well  accommodated  elsewhere. 

The  Colony  Treasury  was  in  the  Town  House,  and 
worn-out  bills  of  credit  which  were  returned  to  the 
treasury  were  there  destroyed.  Sewall  records  that  on 
February  6, 1709,  there  was  a  "treat  to  the  Governor 
at  the  Green  Dragon  which  cost  five  shillings  a  piece," 
and  then  he  says:  "After  our  return  to  the  Council- 
Chamber,  Burnt  near  Six  Thousand  pounds  of  decay 'd 

[93] 


The  Story  of  the 

Bills.  When  the  Candles  began  to  be  lighted  I  grew 
weary  and  uneasy,  and  even  slip'd  away  without  drink- 
ing." The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  met 
in  the  Town  House  to  deliberate  upon  measures  for 
defence  of  the  colonies  in  the  Indian  wars;  here  the 
royal  commissioners,  who  brought  the  commands  of 
the  King  to  the  Colony,  met  the  General  Court ;  and 
here  Andros  caused  the  first  religious  service  according 
to  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  to  be  held. 

Dunton  writes  that  upon  his  arrival  in  Boston  in 
1685,  he  had  "an  invitation  to  dine  with  the  Governor 
and  the  Magistrates  in  the  Town  Hall.  The  entertain- 
ment was  very  rich  and  noble,"  &c. 

On  September  17, 1695,  Sewall  notes  in  his  diary  that 
"Gov1".  Bradstreet  this  day  sent  the  Halberts,  Copies 
of  the  Records,  and  a  Loadstone  belonging  to  the  Pub- 
lick,  to  the  Secretary,  who  caus'd  them  to  be  lodg'd 
at  present  in  the  Town-house  Chamber;  where  I  saw 
them  when  went  to  write  Letters  to  Capt.  March." 

On  September  16, 1696,  he  notes:  "Keep  a  day  of 
Prayer  in  the  East  end  of  the  Town-House,  Govr., 
Council  and  Assembly.  Mr.  Morton  begun  with  Prayer, 
Mr.  Allin  pray'd,  Mr.  Willard  preached — If  God  be 
with  us  who  can  be  against  us?" 

On  May  26,  1697,  he  notes:  "Election-day:  Capt. 
Foster  Guards  the  Governour  to  the  Town- House, 
where  the  Court  had  a  treat.  Mr.  Danforth  preaches." 

On  May  4, 1702,  he  notes :  "  Artillery  Compa  Trains, 
Rainy  day;  So  we  exercise  on  the  Town- House  in  the 
morn."  This  probably  means  that  they  drilled  in  the 
"Exchange"  or  large  room  on  the  first  floor  of  the 

[94] 


QJ+jrum    cJj  rcud&tre^jt 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Town  House,  as  at  that  time  the  space  under  the  Town 
House  was  so  occupied  by  shops  that  there  was  not 
sufficient  space  for  military  exercise. 

The  Town  House  was  also  used  for  festivities.  Sewall 
records:  "February  6,  1704,  Tuesday,  Many  go  to  the 
Council  Chamber  and  there  drink  Healths  on  account 
of  its  being  the  Queen's  Birth-Day."  Also  "Cousin 
Jer.  Durner,  Philosophiae  Dr.,  going  out  of  the  Town- 
house about  8  at  night,  fell  by  reason  of  the  Ice,  hit 
his  left  Temple  against  a  piece  of  Brick-batt,  Cut  a 
great  Gash  at  which  much  blood  Issued :  He  was  so 
stun'd  as  to  be  as  dead  when  Mr.  John  Winthrop  took 
him  up."  Again,  on  February  6, 1708,  he  notes:  "Queen's 
Birthday,  I  could  not  find  in  my  heart  to  go  to  the 
Town-House;  because  hardly  anything  is  professedly 
there  done  but  drinking  Healths." 

Captain  Keayne  in  his  will  contemplated  that  some 
part  of  the  Town  House  might  be  used  for  the  town 
granary,  and  it  appears  that  it  was  thus  used.  On  Oc- 
tober 29,  1678,  the  selectmen  ordered  that  "Robert 
Williams  is  allowed  40  Bush,  of  Indian  corne  and  three 
rates  for  ye  yeare  past  beinge  all  2ld.  10  s  for  reccaue- 
inge  of  graine  into  ye  towne  house  &  deliueringe  it  out 
from  June  1676  to  June  1678."  I  think  this  granary  was 
in  the  space  under  the  Town  House,  though  I  find  no 
certain  evidence  of  it. 

The  Town  House  was  a  convenient  place  for  making 
business  appointments,  and  the  practical  Puritans  often 
combined  business  with  religious  observance.  Sewall 
notes :  "  Mr.  Willard  not  seeing  cause  to  go  to  the  Town- 
House  to  pray,  I  who  was  to  speak  to  him  refrain  also." 

[95] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

The  Town  House  was  the  point  from  which  dis- 
tances were  measured.  On  July  14, 1707,  Sewall  notes 
that  "Mr.  Antram  and  I,  having  Benj.  Smith  and 
David  to  wait  on  us,  Measured  with  his  Wheel  from  the 
Town-House  Two  Miles,  and  drove  down  Stakes  at 
each  Mile's  end,  in  order  to  placing  Stone-posts  in  con- 
venient time."  August  7, 1707,  he  again  notes:  "Peter 
Weare  set  up  the  Stone  Post  to  shew  a  Mile  from  the 
Town-House  ends." 


[96] 


Use  of  the  Town  House  by  the 
Town  of  Boston 

THE  important  use  of  the  Town  House  by  the 
town  of  Boston  was  for  town  meetings.  During 
the  early  part  of  the  period  in  which  the  Town  House 
stood,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  dealt  with  many 
matters  in  town  meeting  which,  after  the  town  had 
become  more  populous,  were  delegated  to  the  select- 
men or  other  officers  of  the  town.  It  was  also  the  cus- 
tom of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  during  this  entire 
period  to  debate  and  consider  public  matters  relating 
to  their  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Colony  at  town  meet- 
ings; for  instance,  they  annually  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  instructions  for  the  deputies  whom 
they  elected  to  the  General  Court,  and  when  the  mat- 
ter of  giving  up  the  Charter  was  under  discussion  by 
the  General  Court,  the  freemen  of  the  town  debated 
and  voted  in  a  town  meeting  in  the  Town  House  upon 
the  question  of  whether  the  Charter  should  be  sur- 
rendered. Indeed,  the  town  meeting  was  at  that  time 
the  dominant  force  in  political  life,  and  public  opinion 
was  shaped  and  made  effective  by  debates  in  the  Town 
House  upon  all  public  matters.  Town  meetings  were 
usually  held  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  usual  form  of  order  by  the  selectmen  to 
warn  a  town  meeting: 

Ordered  that  the  Town  Clerk  Isue  forth  warrant  to  the  Con- 
stables to  warn  a  Town  Meeting  to  Convene  at  the  Town  House 
on  Monday  the  14th  of  March  next,  at  Nine  of  the  Clock  in  the 
fore  noon,  to  choose  Selectmen  and  other  Town  officers  &  to  Grant 

[97] 


The  Story  of  the 

money  to  defray  ye  Town  charge,  and  to  consult  and  Agree  ab*.  any 
other  matter  or  thing  wch  may  be  for  the  Benefit  of  the  Town. 

The  first  town  meeting  in  the  Town  House  prob- 
ably was  held  on  the  fourth  day  of  March,  1658-9.  At 
this  meeting,  which  the  record  shows  was  held  upon 
public  notice  from  house  to  house,  there  were  chosen 
"seven  Selectmen,  six  Constables,  five  Surveyors  of 
high  wayes,  one  Packer  of  Fish  and  Meate,  two  Clerkes 
of  the  Markett,  two  Sealers  of  Leather,  and  two  Water 
Bayliffs."  This  order  was  then  passed: 

Itt  is  ordered  that  in  case  of  fire  breaking  outt  in  any  parts  of 
this  towne,  which  may  possibly  threaten  mine  to  a  greatt  part 
thereof  iff  not  seasonably  prevented  by  pulling  downe  some  house 
or  houses  to  that  end;  Itt  shall  therefore  bee  lawful  for  the  major 
part  of  the  magistrates,  Comissioners,  and  select  men,  that  shall 
then  bee  present  att  the  fire,  or  for  any  three  of  them  mett  to- 
gether, and  two  of  them  concurring,  to  cause  any  house,  or  part 
thereof,  to  bee,  puld  downe;  And  that  whatever  house  or  part 
thereof  bee  puld  downe  by  their  order,  shall  againe  bee  repayred 
and  made  good  by  the  towne  to  him  or  them  who  shall  so  have 
their  houses  puld  down  or  impayred. 

At  the  second  town  meeting  held  in  the  Town  House, 
on  the  thirteenth  day  of  June,  1658-9,  the  following 
order,  showing  how  carefully  the  inhabitants  secured 
themselves  against  persons  coming  into  the  town  with- 
out leave,  was  passed: 

Whereas  sundry  inhabitants  in  this  towne  have  nott  so  well 
attended  to  former  orders  made  for  the  securing  the  towne  from 
charge  by  sojourners,  inmates,  hyred  servants,  journeymen,  or 
other  persons  that  come  for  help  in  physick  or  chyrurgery,  where- 
by no  litle  damage  hath  already,  and  much  more  may  accrew  to 
the  towne.  For  the  prevention  whereof  Itt  is  therefore  ordered, 
that  whosoever  of  our  inhabitants  shall  henceforth  receive  any  such 
persons  before  named  into  their  howses  or  employments  without 

[98] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

liberty  granted  from  the  select  men,  shall  pay  twenty  shillings, 
for  the  first  weeke,  and  so  from  weeke  to  weeke,  twenty  shillings, 
so  long  as  they  retaine  them,  and  shall  beare  all  the  charge  that 
may  accrew  to  the  Towne  by  every  such  sojourner,  journeyman, 
hired  servt.,  Inmate,  &c,  received  or  employed  as  aforesaid.  Pro- 
vided, alwayes,  that  if  any  person  so  receiving  any  shall,  within 
fifteene  dayes,  give  sufficient  security  unto  the  select  men  that  the 
Towne  may  be  secured  from  all  charges  that  may  arise  by  any 
person  received,  and  that  the  persons  so  received  bee  not  of  no- 
torious evill  life  and  manners,  their  fine  abovesaid  shall  bee  re- 
mitted or  abated  according  to  the  discretion  of  the  select  men. 
And  itt  is  further  ordered  that  if  after  bond  given  by  any,  they 
give  such  orderly  notice  to  the  select  men  that  the  towne  may 
bee  fully  cleared  of  such  person  or  persons  so  received  according 
to  law,  then  their  bonds  shall  be  given  in  againe. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  Town  House  on  the  twen- 
tieth day  of  August,  1660,  the  following  order,  which 
is  interesting  as  bearing  upon  the  labour  question,  was 
passed : 

Whereas  itt  is  found  by  sad  experience  that  many  youthes  in 
this  Towne,  being  put  forth  Apprentices  to  severall  manufactures 
and  sciences,  but  for  3  or  4  yeares  time,  contrary  to  the  Customes 
of  all  well  governed  places,  whence  they  are  uncapable  of  being 
Artists  in  their  trades,  besides  their  unmeetenes  att  the  expira- 
tion of  their  Apprentice-ship  to  take  charge  of  others  for  govern- 
ment and  manuall  instruction  in  their  occupations  which,  if  nott 
timely  amended,  threatens  the  welfare  of  this  Towne. 

Itt  is  therefore  ordered  that  no  person  shall  henceforth  open  a 
shop  in  this  Towne,  nor  occupy  any  manufacture  or  science,  till 
hee  hath  compleated  21  years  of  age,  nor  except  hee  hath  served 
seven  yeares  Apprentice-ship,  by  testimony  under  the  hands  of 
sufficient  witnesses.  And  that  all  Indentures  made  betweene  any 
master  and  servant  shall  bee  brought  in  and  enrolled  in  the 
Towne's  Records  within  one  month  after  the  contract  made,  on 
penalty  of  ten  shillings  to  bee  paid  by  the  master  att  the  time 
of  the  Apprentices  being  made  free. 

[99] 


The  Story  of  the 

The  following  records  show  the  usual  method  of  in- 
structing the  representatives  or  deputies  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court: 

14  May  1677.  At  a  meeting  of  the  freemen  of  this  towne  upon 
lawfull  warninge  It  is  Ordered  that  Elder  John  Wiswall,  Eldr 
Edward  Raynsford,  Cap1  Joshua  Skottow,  Capt  John  Richards 
&  Mr.  Elisha  Cooke,  bee  a  Comittee  for  drawing  vp  Instructions 
for  the  Deputies  of  ye  Generall  Court,  to  whome  ye  select  men 
are  to  ioyne,  for  that  end. 

19th  May.  At  a  meetinge  of  the  foresd.  Comitee  the  followinge 
instructions  were  agreed  upon  &  ye.  21th  of  May  were  presented 
to  the  freemen  &  approued  of  by  them  to  be  recomend.  to  ye. 
Deputies. 

These  instructions  covered  seventeen  different  mat- 
ters, such  as  the  making  of  pewter  ware,  the  form  and 
manner  of  taking  oaths,  increasing  the  number  of  de- 
puties from  Boston  to  the  General  Court,  observance 
of  the  Sabbath,  repeal  of  laws  as  to  collection  of  book 
debts,  &c.  The  following  instructions,  however,  were 
among  the  most  important,  and  are  found  repeated 
in  the  instructions  to  the  deputies  for  several  years  at 
this  period. 

That  in  the  exercise  of  yor.  legislatiue  powre  you  haue  re- 
spect to  ye.  Charter  or  Patent  &  that  you  make  noe  lawe  or  ordr. 
repugnant  thereto. 

That  in  all  other  matters  that  may  come  vnder  yor.  consid- 
eration you  passe  nothinge  that  may  in  the  least  measure  haue 
any  tendancie  to  ye.  infringm1.  of  our  liberties  &  priuiledges 
whitr.  ciuill  or  eclesiasticall  granted  us  by  our  Charter. 

In  January,  1684,  a  town  meeting  was  held  to  see 
whether  the  town  desired  the  Colony  to  give  up  the 
Charter  as  required  by  the  King.  It  was  an  important 
occasion,  and  the  record  of  what  was  done  is  as  follows: 

[100] 


.   / /icrcaj  e  .     /((f//i 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Vpon  readinge  and  publishinge  his  Majesties  Declaration  dated 
26th  of  July  1683  relateinge  to  the  Quo  Warranto  issued  out 
against  the  Chart1",  and  priueledges  claymed  by  the  Govern1"  & 
Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  It  beinge 
put  to  the  vote,  Whether  the  Freemen  were  minded  that  the 
Generall  Court  should  make  a  full  submission  and  intire  resigna- 
tion of  Our  Charter  &  priuiledges  there  in  granted  to  his  Majes- 
ties pleasure  as  intimated  in  said  Declaration  now  read. 

The  Question  was  resolued  in  the  Negatiue,  Nemine  contra 
dicente. 

The  Rev.  Increase  Mather  stoutly  opposed  any  sur- 
render or  concession,  and  stated  the  case  in  the  fol- 
lowing language: 

As  the  question  is  now  Stated,  whether  you  will  make  a  full 
Submission  and  entire  Resignation  of  your  Charter  and  the  Pri- 
viledgesofit  unto  his  Majesties  Pleasure,  I  verily  Believe  We  shall 
Sin  against  the  God  of  Heaven  if  we  vote  an  affirmative  unto  it. 
The  Scripture  teacheth  us  otherwise.  We  know  what  Jephthah 
said,  That  which  the  Lord  our  God  has  given  us,  shall  we  not  pos- 
sess it  ?  And  though  Naboth  ran  a  great  Hazard  by  the  Refusal, 
yet  he  said  God  forbid  that  I  should  give  away  the  Inheritance 
of  my  Fathers.  Nor  would  it  be  Wisdom  for  us  to  Comply.  We 
know,  David  made  a  Wise  Choice,  when  he  chose  to  fall  into  the 
Hands  of  God  rather  than  into  the  Hands  of  Men.  If  we  make 
afidl  Submission  and  entire  Resignation  to  Pleasure,  we  shall  fall 
into  the  Hands  of  Men  Immediately.  But  if  we  do  it  not,  we  shall 
keep  ourselves  with  his  Providence;  and  who  knows  what  God 
may  do  for  us  ? 

The  selectmen  held  monthly  and  sometimes  weekly 
meetings  in  the  Town  House.  Their  manner  of  con- 
ducting business  is  shown  by  votes  passed  by  them.  On 
December  29,  1701,  the  following  vote  was  passed: 

Voted  that  the  next  monethly  meeting  of  the  select-men  begin 
at  one  of  the  clock  precisely  and  those  of  the  Select  men  that 
Exceed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  beyond  that  time  Shall  forfeit  Six 


The  Story  of  the 

pence.  And  that  at  each  monethly  meeting  here  after  One  of  the 
Select-men  shall  be  moderator  for  Sd  meeting  &  that  they  take  it 
by  turns  beginning  at  the  Eldist  and  So  Successively,  and  that 
they  begin  Sd  meetings  wth  prayer. 

Again,  March  29,  1708,  this  vote  was  passed: 

The  Select  men  do  agree  to  meet  together  ab*.  the  Town  af- 
faires every  Monday  at  Six  of  the  Clock  in  the  afternoon,  and 
that  each  of  them  who  Shall  neglect  to  Attend  by  the  Space  of 
halfe  &  hour  beyond  or  passed  the  Sd.  time  appoynted  Shall  for- 
feit and  pay  the  Sume  of  four  pence  for  every  Such  Neglect.  Sd 
fines  to  be  disposed  of  At  the  direction  of  the  Select  men. 

The  records  of  the  selectmen  are  interesting  as  show- 
ing with  what  diligence  and  detail  they  administered 
town  affairs.  They  provided  for  the  sweeping  of  the 
chimneys  in  the  town,  a  matter  of  great  importance  at 
that  time  on  account  of  the  danger  of  fire;  they  re- 
ceived lists  of  estates  for  taxation ;  entertained  applica- 
tions for  poor  relief;  appointed  watchmen ;  leased  the 
town  lands,  docks  and  wharves;  received  and  settled 
bills  against  the  town ;  provided  for  keeping  streets  free 
of  obstructions  to  the  flow  of  surface  water ;  authorized 
the  erection  of  posts  before  warehouses,  and  required 
the  taking  down  of  posts  and  fences  which  interfered 
with  the  use  of  the  streets ;  approved  keepers  of  houses 
of  public  entertainment ;  appointed  persons  to  ring  the 
bells  at  the  Town  House  and  meeting-houses ;  peram- 
bulated the  boundaries  between  the  town  and  other 
towns ;  issued  warrants  for  the  collections  of  taxes ; 
gave  leave  to  plant  upon  the  town  lands ;  admitted  in- 
habitants into  the  town ;  fined  persons  for  opening  shops 
in  town  without  liberty ;  appointed  pound-keepers  and 
fixed  their  fees ;  fixed  the  indentures  of  apprentices ;  au- 

[  102  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

thorized  the  construction  of  wharves  by  owners  of  lands 
upon  the  sea ;  permitted  the  taking  away  of  fallen  wood 
upon  common  lands ;  put  the  children  of  idle  persons 
out  to  service ;  looked  after  the  keeping  and  use  of  the 
town  engine  and  appliances  for  putting  out  fires ;  regu- 
lated the  digging  up  and  carrying  away  of  turf  or  earth 
on  the  Common;  and  in  general  attended  to  all  the 
concerns,  or  as  they  were  then  termed  the  "prudential 
affairs,"  of  the  town. 
The  following  votes  by  them  are  characteristic: 

In  answ.  to  the  motion  of  Mr.  John  Hubbert,  the  Select  men 
do  admit  that  Sd.  Mr.  Hubbert  may  have  &  make  use  of  the 
materialls  for  Wire-drawing  wch.  are  now  in  the  Town  House 
garret  he  giveing  rec1.  for  the  Same,  obligeing  himselfe  to  return 
the  Same  upon  demand. 

Allowed  Samuel  Clough  12 s.  8 p.,  his  acco*  for  mending  the 
Town  House  Clock. 

Liberty  is  granted  to  Mr.  Eneas  Salter  &  he  is  ordered  to  Stop 
the  Cart  way  in  the  broad  Street  below  the  Town  House  for 
the  Security  of  the  paveing  which  he  is  now  abl.  to  accomplish 
there. 

As  early  as  1663  many  of  the  streets  in  Boston  were 
paved  with  cobblestones,  then  called  "pebbles,"  but 
only  a  small  strip  in  the  middle  of  the  street  was  usu- 
ally paved,  and  the  sidewalks  were  only  paved  wide 
enough  for  one  person  to  walk  on  them. 

Widdow  Thomas  fined  5  s.  for  permitting  fier  to  be  carred  forth 
her  howse  in  an  vnlawfull  vessell  not  couered,  being  breach  of 
Towne  order. 

Nathaniell  Miles  &  Thomas  Alline  ar  each  of  them  fined  5 s  a 
peice  for  breach  of  a  Towne  order  in  openinge  shopps  in  the 
Towne  before  theay  weare  regularly  admitted  inhabitants  in  the 
said  towne. 

[  103  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Mr.  John  Hayman  hath  libertye  to  make  vse  of  the  streett  from 
Goodman  Read  house  towerdes  the  watter  side  for  to  accommi- 
date  his  trade  leaueing  sufficient  way  for  Carts,  duringe  the 
Towne  pleasuer. 

Orders  for  the  Bellman : — You  are  to  walke  through  and  about 
the  Twne  from  12  clocke  at  nighte  to  5  in  the  morning  and  if 
you  see  any  extreordnary  light  or  fier  in  any  house  or  vesselles 
you  are  to  repaire  to  the  same.  And  as  the  danger  may  be  soe  giue 
notis  of  the  same.  If  you  see  any  light  in  any  Vessell  att  any  of 
the  dockes  or  Creekes,  Command  them  Oute,  And  speake  to  all 
houses  wheare  you  see  any  light  to  haue  a  care  of  them,  except 
you  know  the  occation  of  theare  keping  the  said  lighte. 

Itt  is  Ordered  that  Matthew  Coy  be  allowed  £10.  out  of  the 
Towne  Treasuery  for  his  Chryrourgery  in  the  healinge  of  Wil- 
liam Ockington,  thighe. 

Itt  is  Ordered  that  Doctor  Stonne  be  allowed  £3.  14  s.  out  of 
the  Towne  Treasurye  for  ministring  phissick  and  Chirurgery  to 
Goodman  Fauor  att  Rumny  Marsh. 

Hennery  Rayner  is  hereby  orderedd  to  attend  the  yoakeing  & 
ringing  of  Swynne  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Towne  of 
Boston,  and  to  aseize  all  forfeitures  that  shall  arise  by  swine  not 
being  yoaked  and  ringed. 

John  Dawes  is  ordered  to  ouer  see  the  youth  at  the  new  met- 
ting  house,  that  they  behaue  themselues  reuerently  in  the  time  of 
diune  worship,  and  to  act  according  to  his  instructions  therein. 

Vpon  Information  of  the  necessitye  and  Inability  of  the  North 
end  of  the  Towne  to  repaire  there  metting  house,  wee  iudge  mett 
to  allow  £40.  out  of  the  Towne  Treasuery  towerds  the  same. 

Mr  Jones  sent  for  by  the  Select  men  for  keepg  a  schoole  and 
being  required  to  performe  his  promise  to  the  Towne  in  the 
Winter  to  remoue  himeselfe  and  famyly  in  the  springe :  And  for- 
biden  to  keepe  schoole  any  longer. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Select  men  Jan1**  28th  1706:  Ordered  that 
Complaint  be  given  in  unto  the  Justices  now  Sitting  in  Qr.  Ses- 
sion Ag*.  John  Gerrish  for  Incloseing  eighteen  foot  &  halfe  in 

[  104  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Length  &  two  foot  eight  Inches  in  Breadth  of  the  Street  or  high- 
way on  the  South  Side  of  the  Town  House. 

John  Hubbert  hath  not  liberty  to  abide  to  continue  in  the 
Towne,  vnles  he  serue  3  yeare  to  perfect  hi  me  in  the  trade  of  a 
Joinner. 

Steuen  Brace  fined  20  s.  for  the  contempt  of  the  Townsmen  or- 
der in  their  restriction  the  last  metting  day;  And  further  for- 
bidden to  worke  any  other  worke  then  Jorny  worke  for  12mo,  on 
penaltie  of  20 s.  p.  month. 

Mr  Will  Howard  hath  liberty  to  keep  a  wrighting  schoole,  to 
teach  childeren  to  writte  and  to  keep  accounts. 

Whereas  it  is  found  by  experience  that  in  case  of  fire  break- 
inge  out  in  this  towne,  the  welfare  thereof  is  much  indangered, 
for  want  of  a  speedy  supply  of  water;  It  is  therefore  ordered  that 
after  the  first  of  March  next,  and  soe  forward  to  the  first  of  No- 
uember  in  euery  yeare.  Euery  Inhabitant  in  this  towne  shall  at 
all  times  duringe  the  said  terme  haue  a  pipe  or  a  hogshead  of 
water  ready  fild  with  the  head  open  at  or  neere  the  dore  of  theire 
dwellinge  houses  and  ware  houses  vpon  the  penaltie  of  5  s.  for 
euery  defect. 

Agreed  with  Thomas  Matson  senr.  to  looke  for  the  towne  clocke 
and  keepe  it  in  good  repaire  from  the  first  of  March  next  for  one 
yeare  next  ensueinge,  &  to  haue  10  s.  for  his  paines  about  it. 

Agreed  with  Giles  Dyer  for  keepinge  of  the  towne  clocke  for 
ye  yeare  ensueinge,  for  wch  he  was  to  be  allowed  6  pounds  in  mony, 
or  other  pay  equivalent  beside  his  owne  town  rate. 

Thomas  Farny  is  apynted  to  ringe  the  Bell  at  the  North  Meet- 
inge  at  nine  of  ye  clocke  at  night  &  fiue  in  morninge  in  ye  roome 
of  Goodman  Barber  who  is  by  age  disenabled  in  ye  seruise,  &  to 
receaue  his  salary. 

Ordered  that  warrant  be  given  to  a  Constable  to  leauie  by  dis- 
tresse  vpon  ye  estate  of  Alexand1*  Caiman  shoomaker  the  sume 
of  20  s.  for  openinge  of  a  shop  in  ye  towne  contrary  to  an  Or- 
der thereof,  wch  was  done  by  Jabesh  Salter  Constable,  who  dis- 
trained Fiue  of  shooes,  aprized  by  Sydrak  Simson  &  John  Meriam 
at  20  s. 

I  105] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Giuen  a  warrant  to  ye  Constable  to  leauie  2  s.  vpon  Francis 
Cooke  for  ridinge  in  his  cart  through  ye  streete. 

Libertie  is  granted  to  the  Widdowe  Castle  to  entertaine 
Lodgers  Francis  Hudson  haueinge  ingaged  for  ye  obseruation  of 
good  ordr  in  the  Family. 

Libertie  was  granted  to  Mr  Petr  Serjeant  to  set  vp  a  Lime 
kilne  vpon  the  lay  hill  neere  Fox  hill,  If  it  be  done  with  the  aduice 
&  approbation  of  Deacon  Eliott. 

Granted  to  Thomas  Pecke  senr  10  loade  of  Crooked  Timber  in 
Muddy  riuer  Comon  land  such  as  Deacon  Eliott  shall  approue 
of  &  vpon  such  termes  as  they  can  agree  for,  he  beinge  willinge 
to  give  for  it  as  he  buyes  the  like  of  Deacon  Eliott  or  any  other 
men. 

Let  vnto  Joseph  &  Benjn  Williams  the  priuiledge  of  a  Ferry 
from  Bostone  to  Wenesemet,  for  3  yeares  from  ye  25th  of  March 
next,  they  or  either  of  them  payinge  to  the  treasurer  of  this 
towne  for  the  vse  of  ye  Towne  8ld.  p.  ann.  in  mony.  And  Trans- 
portinge  the  Honrd  Majestrates  Ferrige  Free,  accordinge  to 
formr  custome. 

Ordered  y*  noe  psn  shall  annoy  the  street  by  wast  water  from 
theire  pumps  or  otherwise  upon  the  penalty  of  20  shillings  &  20  p. 
moneth  untill  the  annoyance  be  removed. 


[  106  ] 


The  Town  House  as  the  Place  of  Posting 
Notices  and  Publishing  Laws 

THE  regulations  of  the  town  as  to  public  matters 
were  posted  in  the  Town  House.  March  15, 
1672-3,  the  selectmen  ordered — 

That  a  note  set  vp  vnder  the  Towne  house  vpon  one  of  ye  pil- 
lars, concerninge  the  price  of  wheat  shall  be  sufficient  notice  to 
ye  Bakers  to  size  their  bread  by  accordinge  to  Law. 

And  upon  the  first  Monday  of  evey  moneth  the  men  y*.  set 
the  price  of  wheate  shall  set  up  such  a  note  &  the  words  after 
notice  given  in  page  9  the  2d  line  may  be  left  out  of  y*.  lawe. 

The  colony  laws  were  also  published  at  the  Town 
House  by  sound  of  drum  and  reading. 

The  "Body  of  Liberties"  of  1641,  which  was  the  first 
colony  code  of  laws,  and  the  subsequent  laws  of  each 
year  were  thus  read  and  made  known  to  the  people  upon 
their  adoption  by  the  General  Court.  In  1673  the  Gen- 
eral Court  ordered  that  all  laws  and  orders  of  every 
session  thought  fit  to  be  published  be  "read  in  the 
Markett  Place  at  Boston,  vpon  the  fifth  day,  being  a 
Lecture  Day,  wthin  the  ten  days  after  the  end  of  such 
sessions,  which  being  performed  is  and  shallbe  ac- 
counted sufficient  publication." 

The  Royal  Declaration  of  July  26, 1683,  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  English  courts  against  the  Charter  was 
published  in  the  Colony  as  provided  therein:  "by  be- 
ing posted  on  ye  Exchange  in  Boston."  The  Peace  of 
Ryswick  was  proclaimed  at  the  Town  House  Decem- 
ber 10, 1647.  Sewall  notes  it  as  follows:  "Mr.  Jn°  Wil- 
lard  brings  the  Order  for  proclaiming  the  Peace  here, 

[107] 


The  Story  of  the 

which  was  done  between  3  and  4.  p.m.  Eight  or  10 
Drums,  Two  Trumpets:  Prisoners  released." 

On  October  30, 1703,  Samuel  Marion  petitioned  the 
General  Court  saying  he  had  for  above  twenty  years 
past"  been  Improved  on  all  publiqueOccassions  to  beat 
the  Drum  vz  Laws,  Acts,  proclamations  &c.  and  a 
very  rare  thing  that  any  other  Drumr  was  Improved;" 
wherefore  he  asked  for  ten  pounds,  which  he  estimated 
would  be  less  than  twelvepence  a  time  for  his  services. 
He  was  allowed  forty  shillings  "for  his  service  several 
years  in  beating  a  drum  at  the  publishing  of  laws  and 
proclamations  etc." 

On  March  15, 1700-1,  the  council  records  show  that 
Mr.  Sheriff  Gookin  was  allowed  £3  for  his  expenses  in 
publishing  the  Acts;  and  in  1726,£7  13s.  6d.  for  cash 
paid  for  beating  drums  and  for  his  own  service  in  pub- 
lishing the  Acts. 

It  was  from  the  Town  House  that  Queen  Anne  was 
proclaimed  upon  her  accession  to  the  throne  after  the 
death  of  William,  in  1702.  The  information  of  the 
kings  death  and  of  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne  came 
to  Boston  by  the  way  of  Newfoundland,  and  was  re- 
ceived May  28,  1702.  Sewall's  account  of  the  matter 
is  interesting. 

Burrington  from  New-Found-Land  brings  Prints  of  the  King's 
death  March,  8,  at  8  am.  Queen's  Speech  to  her  Lords  at  S* 
James's.  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  their  Address ;  Queen's 
Speech  to  the  Parliament;  Several  Addresses;  and  at  last  the 
Gazette  containing  the  Proclaiming  the  Queen,  came  to  Hand: 
Then  we  resolv'd  to  proclaim  her  Majesty  here:  Which  was  clone 
accordingly  below  the  Town-house.  Regiment  drawn  up,  and  Life- 
Guard  of  Horse ;  Council,  Representatives,  Ministers,  Justices, 

[108] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Gentlemen  taken  within  the  Guard;  Mr  Secretary  on  foot  read 
the  order  of  the  Council,  the  Proclamation,  and  Queen's  Proclama- 
tion for  continuing  Comissions.  Mr  Sheriff  Gookin  gave  it  to  the 
people.  Volleys,  Guns Proclamation  was  made  between  3  and  4. 

The  ministers  did  not  like  it  because  the  General 

Court  went  before  them  in  the  ceremonies  of  making 

the  proclamation.  Sewall  notes  on  June  1,  1702: 

Had  much  adoe  to  persuade  Mr.  Willard  to  dine  with  me, 
Said  ministers  were  disgusted  because  the  Representatives  went 
first  at  the  Proclaiming  the  Queen;  and  that  by  order  of  our 
House.  But  at  last  he  came :  I  went  for  him,  leaving  my  Guests. 

It  was  also  in  the  Town  House  that  the  allowance 
and  disallowance  of  Colonial  Acts  by  the  English 
government  under  the  Charter  of  1691  were  published. 
On  April  26,  1699,  Sewall  records  that— 

Mr.  Secretary  waits  on  the  IA  Govr.  and  comes  into  the  Coun- 
cil-chamber after  the  Adjournment  in  the  evening,  and  tells  Mr. 
Winthrop,  Mr.  Cooke  and  me  that  the  Act  for  Courts  is  dis- 
anulled  and  that  of  the  Colledge,  &c :  so  that  our  Court  is  like  to 
die  and  sink  in  the  midst.  The  Lord  be  our  King,  and  Lord,  and 
Law-Giver.  Pardon  our  Court-Sins,  and  sanctify  our  frequent 
Deaths. 

The  next  day  Sewall  records  that  "Drum  is  beat,  and 
Allowance  and  Disallowance  of  the  Acts  is  published, 
IA  Govr.  and  Council  standing  in  the  Gallery.  Great 
many  Auditors  below." 

Again  Sewall  records:  "Satterday,  Septr  25,  The 
Queen's  Birthday  is  celebrated  by  the  Captains  of  the 
Frigots  and  sundry  others  at  Noddles  Hand.  King  and 
Council's  Proclamation  of  Novr  6.  last,  was  published 
by  beat  of  Drum  throw  the  Town  to  hinder  their  mak- 
ing Bonfires  in  the  Town  however." 

[  109] 


Use  of  the  Town  House 
as  the  Place  of  Public  Records 

THE  Town  House  was  the  place  where  the  public 
records  of  the  town  and  Colony  were  kept.  Prior 
to  November,  1647,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  special  provision  for  keeping  the  colony  records,  but 
at  a  General  Court  held  November  11,  1647,  it  was 
provided  that — 

To  ye  end  all  records,  wills,  births,  letters,  &  othr  instrumts 
wch  are  of  special  &  publike  concerning  may  be  safely  pserved  & 
impved  for  ye  good  of  psent  &  succeeding  ages,  it  is  ordred  by  ys 
Corte,  &  ye  authority  thereof,  y*  forthwth  yr  be,  by  direction  of 
ye  auditor  genrall,  a  strong  presse  made  of  very  firme  oake  planks, 
wth  rabit  ioyntes  one  into  anothr,  about  6  foote  high,  5  foote 
long,  3  foote  broad,  from  out  to  out,  well  bound,  wth  3  strong 
locks,  of  sevrall  workes,  ye  keyes  wrof  to  remaine  in  ye  hand  of  ye 
Govrnr  (one),  ye  Secretary  (one),  ye  Record1"  (one),  wch  shalbe 
chosen  from  yeare  to  yeare;  in  wch  presse  yr  shalbe  divrs  coberds, 
for  sevrall  uses,  wth  supscriptions,  for  ye  more  ready  recourse  to 
any  thing  conteined  yrin;  wch  presse  shalbe  kept  in  some  place 
convenient,  at  Boston,  by  direction  of  ye  Govrnr  for  ye  time  be- 
ing, from  time  to  time,  till  ye  Genrall  Corte  take  furthr  ordr. 

This  "presse"  was  doubtless  placed  in  the  Town 
House  upon  its  construction,  and  there  the  records  were 
kept  during  the  charter  period  in  the  custody  of  Edward 
Rawson,  who  became  secretary  in  1650.  After  the  re- 
vocation of  the  Charter  Rawson  appears  to  have  kept 
the  records  in  his  custody,  probably  not  taking  them 
away  from  the  Town  House,  but  keeping  the  key  of  the 
place  where  they  were  kept  in  his  own  possession.  The 
following  records,  now  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives, 

[111  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

show  the  attempts  by  the  governor  and  council  to 
obtain  the  records  from  Rawson: 

At  a  Councill  held  in  Boston  New  England  on  Wednesday  the 
Eight  day  of  December  1686 

Present 
The  Honble  Joseph  Dudley  Esqr.  President 
William  Stoughton  John  Usher 

Wait  Winthrope  Barth°  Gedney 

Richard  Wharton  Jonath11.  Tyng. 

Edwd.  Randolph. 
Ordered  That  Wait  Winthrop  Esqr,  Simon  Lynd  Esqr,  Benja 
Bullivant,  Mr  Isaack  Addington  and  Mr  Daniel  Allen  be  a 
Comtee  wth  the  Secry  to  receive  &  sort  and  form  the  Records  of 
the  Country  (now  in  the  hands  of  Mr  Edward  Rawson  late  Secry) 
that  so  they  may  be  apt  and  ready  for  Service,  and  that  the  per- 
sons above  named  be  all  sworn  to  the  faithfull  discharge  of  their 
trust  in  this  matter,  and  to  the  end  it  may  be  forthwith  pro- 
ceeded in,  Mr  Lynd  and  Mr  Bullivant  are  Impowred  and  hereby 
Ordered  to  take  the  Same  from  Mr  Rawson  to  morrow,  and  re- 
move them  in  the  posture  they  are  now  in,  into  the  Library 
Chamber  and  that  there  go  forth  a  Strict  Warrant  to  Mr  Rawson 
to  deliver  them  accordingly,  and  it  is  further  Ordered  That  two 
Locks  be  put  upon  the  Office  where  such  papers  shall  be  Lodged, 
and  that  Mr  Bullivant  or  such  other  person  as  Mr  Randolph  shall 
depute  to  that  Service,  shall  keep  the  Key  of  one  of  the  Locks 
and  Cap*.  Winthrop  Mr.  Lynde  or  Mr  Addington  the  other./ 

Of  a  Councill  held  at  the  Councill  Chamber  in  Boston  ye  3d 
day  of  february  1687,  the  record  is — 

Present 
His  Excye  Sr  Edmund  Andros  Kn  &c: 


Joseph  Dudley 
Wm  Stoughton 
Rob1  Mason 
Tho:  Hinckley 
John  Usher 
Barth :  Gidney 


John  Hincks 
Nath :  Clarke 
Edwd  Randolph 
J  "  fFranc:  Nicholson 

Sam11  Shrimpton 
Wm  Browne 
[  112  ] 


►  Esqrs 


GJ  vr  (Dcunu  ncL  ^  y^fhcLrv^ 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Forasmuch  as  the  severall  Orders  formerly  made  for  taking  an 
account  of  the  publiq  Records  of  the  late  Massathu setts  Collony 
have  not  beene  attended  that  the  same  might  be  putt  into  the 
Secryes  Custody  and  all  persons  have  recourse  to  them  as  Occa- 
sion Ordered  that  Mr  Jsaac  Addington  and  Mr  John  Herbert 
Coward  be  and  are  hereby  desired  and  authorized  in  the  presence 
of  Mr  Edward  Randolph  Secry  and  Mr  Edward  Rawson  the  late 
Secry  or  some  one  in  his  behalfe  to  take  an  account  in  writeing 
of  all  the  said  Records  and  that  they  beginn  the  same  on  Tues- 
day next  and  continue  day  by  day  about  the  same  till  compleated 
and  that  then  all  the  said  Records  be  delivered  into  the  hands  and 
Custody  of  the  said  Secry  and  the  account  thereof  by  them  taken 
forthwith  returned  to  this  board  under  their  hands. 
By  Order  in  Councill  fyc 

John  West  D  SeCry 

Febry.  1687.  Accompt  of  what  time  was  expended  by  the  Comit- 
tee  in  overlooking  Sorting  and  disposing  into  their  proper  places 
the  Bookes  Files  Papers  &c.  belonging  to  the  Publique  Records 
of  the  late  Massathusetts  Colony,  In  pursuance  of  an  Order  from 
his  Excy.  in  Councill  datd.  3d  ffebry.  1687. 
Being  Seven  dayes  in  attendance  upon  the^ 
said  worke  and  drawing  forth  a  List  &        \  £3:00:00 
Accompt  thereof  J 

This  humbly  referred  to  yor.  Excy  in  Councill 

By  yor.  Excys.  most  humble  Servants 
IsA  Addington 
Jn°.  Herbt.  Coward 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Councill  on  Thursday  the  4th  of  February 
1686./7 

Present 
His  Exce  Sr.  Edmond  Andros  Knl  Governour 
Joseph  Dudley         ^  Richard  Wharton " 

John  Usher 
Es<T         JohnWalley&      M^" 
Edward  Randolph , 

[  H3  ] 


William  Stoughton 
Walter  Clarke 
Wait  Winthrop 


The  Story  of  the 

Whereas  by  an  Order  of  the  late  President  &  Councill  dated  the 
8th  day  of  December  last  It  was  ordered  That  Wait  Winthrop, 
Simon  Lynds  Esqrs  Benjamin  Bulliuent,  Mr„  Isaac  Addington,  & 
Mr.  Daniel  Allin  be  a  Comtee  with  the  Secretary  to  receiue  sort 
and  form  the  Records  of  the  Country  (now  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Rawson,  late  Secretary,)  that  they  may  be  ready  for  Seruice,  En- 
joyning  the  sd.  Comtee  to  be  Sworn  for  the  faithfull  discharge  of 
their  trust  inpowering,  &  ordering,  Mr.  Lynd  &  Mr.  Bulliuent  to 
take  the  same  from  Mr.  Rawson,  the  next  day  following,  &  to 
remoue  the  same,  (in  the  posture  they  find  them)  into  the  Liber- 
ary  Chamber. — In  pursuance  whereof  it  is  hereby  Ordered  That 
the  sd.  Comtee.  do  forthwith  enter  upon  the  effectual  execusion 
thereof,  bringing  them  to  ye  Office  provided  for  them  &  Mr 
Rawson  late  Secry  to  b  assisting  in  Sorting  &  disposing  them  ac- 
cordingly./. 

The  committee  rendered  their  account  for  their  ser- 
vices, and  also  rendered  the  following  account,  the 
original  of  which  is  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives,  for 
their  sustenance  while  engaged  in  the  work: 

To  Sundries  att  ye  Town  house  by  order  of  Mr  Randall  E(*r- 
ffeb:ye9  1687 

To  Bread  and  Sidor 

To  a  hand  of  Porke  and  turnupes 

To  a  Loyne  off  uealle 

ditto  to  Siddor  and  bread 
12  to  alle  and  bread 
17  to  alle  and  bread 

to  bread  and  alle 

yeSum  00     09     09 

pr  George  Monck 
Feb^.  1687. 

Rawson  finally  gave  up  the  records  to  the  new  gov- 
ernment, as  appears  by  the  following  council  record 
from  the  archives: 

[  H4] 


£ 

s 

d 

00 

01 

10 

00 

02 

00 

00 

03 

00 

00 

00 

07 

00 

00 

08 

00 

00 

08 

00 

01 

00 

Old  Boston  Town  House 

Att  a  Councill  held  att  ye  Councill  Chamber  in  Boston  on  tues- 
day  ye  6th  day  of  March  1687  prsent 

His  ExcelK  Sr  Edmd.  Andros  Knl:  &c 


Joseph  Dudley 
Wm.  Stoughton 
Jn°.  Winthrop 
Waite  Winthrop 
Jn°.  Usher 


Jn°  Lathrop 
Nath11  Clarke 
Esqrs         Richd.  Arnold 
Edwd  Randolph 
ffranc  Nicholson  J 


Esqrs. 


Upon  Reading  this  day  in  Councill  ye  Reporte  made  by  Edwd 
Randolph  Secry  Edwd  Rawson  Jsaack  Addington  &  Jn°.  Her- 
bert Coward  togather  with  ye  account  by  them  taken  of  ye  pub- 
lique  Records  of  ye  late  Massethusett  Collony — pursuant  to  an 
Ordr  of  this  Board  beareing  Date  ye  3d  of  ffebruary  past  Or- 
dered that  ye  sd  Records  be  forthwith  taken  into  ye  Custody  & 
Charge  of  ye  Secry  &  Kept  with  ye  other  Records  of  this  Domin- 
ion in  the  Secrys  office  where  all  psons  may  have  recourse  to  them 
as  occasion  &  that  ye  Key  heitherto  Kept  by  Mr.  Rawson  of  ye 
place  where  ye  sd  Records  are  be  forthwith  deliuered  to  ye  sd 

Secry-  By  Ordr  in  Councill 

On  March  5, 1687,  Sewall  notes :  "The  Massachusetts 
Books  and  Papers  are  fetcht  away  from  Mr.  Rawson's 
to  the  Town-House  by  Mr.  Lynde  and  Bullivant." 

Later,  under  the  Andros  government,  the  following 

order  was  made  for  the  bringing  of  the  records  from 

Plymouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  other  parts  of  the 

Province  to  Boston,  and  placing  them  in  the  Town 

House,  or,  as  it  was  called  under  that  government,  the 

"Council  House." 

Att  a  Councill  held  att  the  Councill  Chamber  in  Boston  on 
Wednesday  the  25th  day  of  May  1687. 

Ordered:  That  all  publicque  Records  in  the  last  Governments 
now  annexed  under  this  Dominion  be  brought  to  this  Towne 
and  putt  into  the  Custody  of  the  Secrty  or  his  Depty. 

[115] 


The  Story  of  the 

Upon  the  overthrow  of  the  Andros  government  in 
1689  the  provisional  government,  under  Bradstreet  and 
the  Council  for  the  Safety  of  the  People  and  Conserva- 
tion of  the  Peace,  took  possession  of  the  records,  which 
were  in  the  secretary's  office  under  the  Town  House. 

On  April  23  the  following  order  was  passed : 

Boston  23d  April  1 689  At  the  Council  for  the  Safety  of  the  Peo- 
ple and  Conservation  of  the  Peace 

Ordered  that  Mr  Peter  Sergeant,  Mr  John  Eyre,  Mr  Adam 
Winthrop,  and  Mr  John  Foster  be  and  are  appointed  a  Comittee 
to  overlook  and  take  an  Ace11  of  the  publick  records  and  papers 
now  under  Seisure  to  make  their  Report  to  the  Council. 

On  April  26, 1689,  the  following  order  was  passed: 

Boston  26th  April  1689  At  the  Council  for  the  Safety  of  the  Peo- 
ple and  Conservation  of  the  Peace 

Ordered,  that  the  public  Office  and  Writings  under  the  town 
House  late  in  the  keeping  of  Thos  Dudley  be  and  are  Comitted  unto 
the  present  care  and  charge  of  Isaac  Addington,  &  Mr.  Peter  Ser- 
gent,  Mr  Nath  Oliver  and  Mr  John  Eyre,  (appointed  a  Comittee 
to  inspect  the  publick  writings)  are  desired  to  Supervise,  and  Over 
look  the  Records  and  papers  in  that  Office  in  what  Order  they  are. 

Later  in  1689,  John  West,  who  had  been  secretary 
under  the  Andros  government,  claimed  that  his  pri- 
vate papers  were  mingled  with  those  of  the  Colony  and 
had  been  seized  with  them,  and  asked  that  his  pa- 
pers be  returned  to  him,  and  the  following  order  for 
that  purpose  was  then  passed: 

At  the  Convention  of  the  Govern',  and  Council,  and  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Massachuset  Colony,  in  Boston,  Tuesday  the 
third  of  December  1689  convened  by  Order  of  the  Govern:  and 
Council  upon  the  Arrival  of  a  Ship  from  London. 

[116  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

[December]  14th  [1689]. 

Jn  Answer  to  the  Motion  of  Mr  John  West,  Mr  Peter  Sergeant 
Mr  John  Foster,  Mr  Adam  Winthrop,  and  Mr  John  Eyre  (the 
Comittee  formerly  appointed  to  overlook  and  take  an  Accompt 
of  the  Publick  records,  Book's,  and  papers  seized  in  the  Secretary's 
Office  upon  the  Revolution)  are  desired  and  Appointed  to  revise, 
and  examine  the  Said  Book's  papers,  and  Writings  and  to  make 
a  list  of  any  that  do  belong  to  Mr  Wests  private,  &  particular 
concerns,  and  to  Seperate  the  Same,  making  their  report  thereof 
to  the  Council,  that  they  may  be  returned  to  Sd  Mr  West.  This 
Past  by  the  Council. 

The  records  and  papers  in  the  Town  House,  which 
were  taken  into  the  possession  of  the  provisional  or 
Brad  street  government,  upon  the  overthrow  of  the 
Andros  government  in  1689,  doubtless  included  re- 
cords and  papers  which  Andros  had  taken  from  the 
other  colonies  and  placed  in  the  Town  House,  or,  as  he 
termed  it,  the  Council  House.  The  greater  part  of  these, 
if  not  all  of  them,  were  from  time  to  time  returned  to 
those  colonies  upon  their  application  to  the  provisional 
and  succeeding  government,  but  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  records  and  papers  and  some  of  the  records  and 
papers  of  the  Andros  government,  and  the  town  re- 
cords and  papers  remained  in  the  Town  House  until 
its  destruction  by  fire  in  1711.  After  the  construction 
of  the  new  Town  House,  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  the  Old 
State  House,  in  1713,  such  of  these  records  and  papers 
as  were  not  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  1711  were  doubt- 
less placed  in  that  building,  and  the  subsequent  town 
and  colony  records  kept  there.  In  1747  this  building 
was  also  burned,  and  some  of  the  records  and  public 
papers  in  it  destroyed.  The  next  year,  however,  the 

[117] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

building  was  restored  and  again  occupied  by  the  town 
and  Colony,  and  then  by  the  town  and  the  Common- 
wealth, until  the  new  State  House  on  Beacon  Hill  was 
built  and  opened  for  use  in  January,  1798.  At  that 
time  the  town  meetings  had  come  to  be  held  in  Fan- 
euil  Hall  and  the  courts  in  the  Court  House  on  Court 
Street.  The  colony  and  court  records  and  papers  were 
after  a  time  transferred  to  the  new  State  House  and  be- 
came a  part  of  the  Massachusetts  Archives,  so  called. 
The  town  records  remained  for  a  long  time  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  old  State  House,  and  many  of  them 
were  lost  or  taken  away  without  right;  but  finally  the 
remainder  were  removed  to  the  City  Hall  erected  on 
School  Street  in  1840,  and  furnish  much  of  the  valua- 
ble material  which  has  been  printed  in  the  Boston 
Record  Commissioners  Reports. 


[118] 


Use  of  the  Town  House  for  a 
Public  Library 

BEFORE  we  enter  upon  the  recital  of  the  political 
and  religious  dissensions  which  were  waged  in  the 
Town  House,  it  is  pleasant  to  turn  to  one  use  of  it  of 
a  more  peaceful  nature. 

In  this  day  of  free  public  library  expansion,  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  Captain  Keayne's  will  in  1653 
provided  for  the  first  free  public  library  in  America,  to 
be  kept  in  the  Boston  Town  House.  Indeed,  the  will 
shows  that  this  library  was  one  of  the  chief  purposes 
which  he  desired  to  be  accomplished  by  his  bequest. 
He  first  mentions  it  in  connection  with  the  use  of  the 
building  for  the  courts  as  "a  convenient  roome  for  a 
Library,"  then  "as  for  a  Library  &  for  a  Gallere  or 
Long  Roome  for  the  De vines  &  Schollers  to  meete  & 
conferr  togeather,"  &c.  Later  on,  after  providing  for 
partial  payments  of  his  legacy  as  the  construction  of 
the  Town  House  progressed,  he  said: 

Next,  the  Library  &  Gallere  for  Devines  &  Schollers  to  meete 
in  being  finished  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  beginning  of  that 
Library  my  3  great  writing  bookes  wch  are  intended  as  an  Ex- 
position or  Interpretation  of  the  whole  Bible,  as  also  a  4th  great 
writing  booke  in  which  is  an  exposition  on  the  Prophecy  of  Da- 
niel of  the  Revelations  &  the  Prophecy  of  Hosea  not  long  since 
began,  all  which  Bookes  are  written  with  my  owne  hand  so  farr 
as  they  be  writt  &  could  desier  that  some  able  scholler  or  two 
that  is  active  and  dilligent  &  addicted  to  reading  and  writing 
were  ordered  to  carry  on  the  same  worke  by  degrees  as  they  have 
leasure  and  opportunitie  &  in  the  same  methode  and  way  as  I 
have  begun  (if  a  better  be  not  advised  to)  at  least  if  it  shalbe 

[119] 


The  Story  of  the 

esteemed  for  the  profitt  of  it  to  young  students  (though  not  so 
to  more  able  and  learned  Devines  in  these  knowing  times)  worth 
the  labor  as  I  have  &  doe  finde  it  to  my  selfe  worth  all  the  paines 
&  labour  I  have  bestowed  upon  them,  so  that  if  I  had  100lb  layd 
me  downe  for  them,  to  deprive  me  of  them,  till  my  sight  or  life 
should  be  taken  from  me  I  should  not  part  from  them. 

Then  near  the  close  of  the  will  he  said : 

And  concerning  my  bookes  that  I  have  given  to  begin  the 
Library  with  all  in  Boston,  my  will  is  that  my  brother  Willson 
&  Mr  Norton  Eldrs  at  Boston  or  the  teaching  Eldrs  that  shall  at 
the  time  of  my  death  (after  my  wife  and  son  Benj  amine  have  made 
choyce  of  some  bookes  for  theire  owne  use  as  I  have  before  ex- 
pressed) may  be  requested  to  take  paines  to  view  over  the  rest 
of  my  bookes  &  such  as  they  shall  judge  fitt  for  that  use  to  take 
a  pticul1"  note  or  inventory  of  them  &  so  to  take  them  into  there 
owne  keeping  or  to  leave  them  with  my  executor  if  they  will,  till 
the  time  mentioned  in  this  will  be  accomplished,  that  if  the  towne 
of  Boston  should  not  within  three  yeares  after  my  death  build  a 
handsome  roome  for  a  Library  &  anothr  for  the  Eldrs  and  Schollrs 
to  walke  &  meete  in,  as  before  I  have  expressed,  that  then  they 
may  be  delivered  to  the  President  or  some  of  the  Overseers  of 
Herbert  Collidge  in  Cambridge  to  be  placed  as  my  gift  or  addi- 
tion to  that  Library  that  is  already  begun  there. 

But  the  "handsome  roome  for  a  Library"  was  pro- 
vided in  the  Town  House,  and  Captain  Keayne's  books 
were  doubtless  placed  in  it  as  the  nucleus  of  a  public 
library.  Additional  books  appear  to  have  been  given  to 
the  library  from  time  to  time  by  other  persons. 

In  1673  Rev.  John  Oxenbridge  of  Cambridge,  by 
his  last  will,  which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Pub- 
lic Library  of  the  City  of  Boston  in  the  manuscripts  of 
the  collection  of  the  Rev.  John  Prince,  gave  "to  the 
publick  Library  in  Boston  or  elsewhere  as  my  Execu- 
trix and  OverSeers  shall  judge  best  Augustins  workes 

[  120  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

in  6  volum's,  the  Century's  in  8  volum's,#  the  Cata- 
logue of  Oxford  Library  Trithemius  catalogue  of  Ec- 
clesiastick  writers,  also  Pareus  workes  in  2  volumns, 
Peneda  upon  Job  in  2  volumns,  Euclids  Geometry 
Willet  on  Leviticus,  Davenant  on  the  Colossians,  Pe- 
miles  (?)  workes, t  Epit.  of  Centurian  in  2  volum." 

The  colonists  doubtless  had  books  for  public  use  to 
a  limited  extent,  at  least,  before  the  Library  in  the 
Town  House  was  established.  It  appears  by  the  re- 
cords of  the  Colony  that  on  April  13,  1629,  books  were 
given  to  them.  The  record  is  as  follows : 

This  day  notice  was  given  that  Mr.  Willm  Backhouse  had 
freely  bestowed  upon  this  Company  to  send  for  New  England 
these  books  following,  for  wch  thankes  was  given  by  the  Governor 
and  those  present  to  the  said  Mr.  Backhouse  in  the  Companies 
behalfe. 

The  English  Bible  in  folio  of  the  last  print: 

The  Booke  of  Common  Prayer: 

Ayns  worth's  Works  in  folio  : 

Bishop  Babingtons  Works: 

Calvins  Institutions: 

Fotherby  against  Atheists: 

Malderott  upon  St.  Johns  Gospel : 

A  booke  called  The  French  Country  Farme. 

These  books  may  have  been  a  part  of  the  collection 
subsequently  placed  in  the  Town  House,  though  I 
think  it  improbable,  as  this  collection  was  not  gathered 
until  nearly  thirty  years  after  they  were  given.  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  mentioned 
in  this  list  was  never  used.  Hutchinson  says :  "  I  find 
a  Common  Prayer  Book  among  the  list  of  books  pre- 

*The  Centuriae  Magdeburg enses. 

t  Possibly  the  Workes  of  William  Pembley  1659. 

[121  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

sented  by  William  Backhouse  for  the  use  of  the  minis- 
ters, but  it  was  never  made  use  of  in  any  church." 

It  appears  upon  the  records  of  the  town  that  money 
was  expended  upon  the  library.  On  August  2,  1683, 
it  was  voted  by  the  selectmen  as  follows : 

Giuen  David  Edwards  an  ordr  vndr  ye  select  mens  hands  to 
receaue  of  Elder  John  Wiswall  &  Doctr  Elisha  Cooke,  34 ld.  4  s. 
in  mony  for  severall  things  he  brought  from  England  for  ye  vse 
of  the  Library,  by  order  of  Cap*  Brattle  &  is  in  pte  of  a  greate 
sume  due  from  them,  for  Cap*.  Rob*.  Keynes  legacie  to  ye  vse  of 
sd  Library,  as  apeares  fol.  47. 

On  March  11, 1695,  it  was  voted  by  the  town  "that 
the  bookes  of  the  Register  of  Birthes  and  deathes  in 
the  Town  of  Boston  shall  be  demanded  by  the  Select 
men  in  whose  hands  soever  they  be  and  that  all  Bookes 
or  Other  things  belonging  to  the  Library  and  all  the 
goods  or  Estate  belonging  to  the  Town  be  demanded 
and  Taken  care  of  by  the  Select  men." 

The  town  records  have  few  references  to  the  books 
of  the  library,  but  that  there  came  to  be  a  considerable 
collection  of  them  appears  from  an  order  of  the  select- 
men on  August  31,  1702,  that  "Mr.  John  Barnerd 
junr  be  desired  to  make  a  Cattalogue  of  all  the  bookes 
belonging  to  the  Towns  Liberary  and  to  Lodge  the 
Same  in  ye  sd.  Liberary;"  and  an  order  of  the  select- 
men on  February  28,  1704,  that  "Mr.  John  Barnerd, 
junr.,  haveing  at  the  request  of  the  Select  men  Set  the 
Towns  Liberary  in  good  order,  he  is  allowed  for  Sd.  Ser- 
vice two  of  those  bookes  of  whch  there  are  in  ye  Sd.  Li- 
berary two  of  a  Sort."  It  is  not  likely  that  this  was 
a  circulating  library.  Its  books  were  probably  used  as 

[  122  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

a  rule  in  the  Town  House.  After  the  fire  by  which  the 
Town  House  was  destroyed  the  following  advertise- 
ment appeared,  on  June  8, 1713,  in  the  "Boston  News 

Letter:" 

Advertisements. 

All  Persons  that  have  in  their  keeping,  or  can  give  notice  of 
any  of  the  Town  Library ;  or  other  things  belonging  to  the  Town 
House  in  Boston,  before  the  late  Fire:  are  desired  to  inform  the 
Treasurer  of  the  said  Town  thereof,  in  order  to  their  being  re- 
turned. 

The  first  volumn  of  Pool's  Annotations  was  carryed  away  in 
the  late  Pire  in  Boston ;  any  Person  that  has  it,  or  any  other 
Books,  carry 'd  away  at  that  time,  or  any  other  Goods,  are  desired 
to  bring  them  to  the  Post  Office,  that  the  true  Owners  may  have 
them  again. 

In  a  letter  written  some  months  after  the  burning 
of  the  Town  House,  Judge  Sewall  states  that  "in  our 
Boston  Library  several  valuable  Books  were  lost,  as 
the  Polyglot  Bible,  the  London  Criticks,  Thuanus's 
History,  a  Manuscript  in  two  Folios  left  by  Capt.  Keyn 
the  Founder;  &c." 

Doubtless  all  books  in  this  first  library,  except  such 
as  may  have  been  temporarily  out  for  use,  or  have 
been  secured  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  were  destroyed 
when  the  Town  House  was  burned.  One,  however,  pro- 
bably still  exists.  A  copy  of  Samuel  Mather's  "Testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  Against  Idolatry  and  Supersti- 
tion" is  in  the  possession  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  At 
the  bottom  of  the  title-page  is  written  in  a  clear  hand : 
"For  the  publice  Library  at  Boston,  1674."  It  consists 
of  two  sermons.  The  full  title  of  the  first  is: 

A  Testimony  from  the  Scripture  against  Idolatry  and  Super- 
stition in  Two  Sermons :  Upon  the  Example  of  that  Great  Re- 

[  123  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

former  Hezekiah.  2  Kings,  18,  4.  The  first  witnessing  in  generall 
against  all  the  Idols  and  Inventions  of  men  in  the  Worship  of 
God.  The  second,  more  particularly  against  the  Ceremonies  and 
some  other  Corruptions  of  the  Church  of  England.  Preached,  the 
one  September  27,  the  other  Septmb.  30,  1660.  By  Mr.  Samuel 
Mather,  Teacher  to  a  Church  of  Christ  in  Dublin  in  Ireland. 

1  Sam.  5,  S,  4.  "And  when  they  of  Ashdod  arose  early  on  the 
morrow,  behold,  Dagon  was  fallen  upon  his  face  to  the  earth  be- 
fore the  Ark  of  the  Lord :  and  they  took  Dagon  and  set  him  up  in 
his  place  again. 

"And  when  they  rose  early  on  the  morrow  morning,  behold, 
Dagon  was  fallen  upon  his  face  to  the  ground  before  the  Ark  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  head  of  Dagon  and  both  the  palms  of  his  hands 
were  cut  off  upon  the  threshold,  onely  the  stump  of  Dagon  was 
left  unto  him." 

The  title-page  of  the  second  sermon  is : 

The  Second  Sermon  Witnessing  more  particularly  against  the 
Ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  Text  2  Kings  18,  h 

"And  he  removed  the  High  Places  and  broke  the  Images  and 
cut  down  the  Groves,  and  brake  in  pieces  the  brazen  Serpent, 
that  Moses  had  made,  for  unto  these  dayes  the  Children  of  Israel 
did  burn  Incense  to  it,  and  he  called  it  Nehushtan." 

The  main  points  of  the  second  sermon  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  Surplice;  2.  The  Sign  of  the  Cross  in  Bap- 
tism; 3.  Kneeling  at  the  Lord's  Supper;  4.  Bowing  to 
the  Altar;  5.  Bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus;  6.  Popish 
holy  dayes ;  7.  The  Holiness  of  places ;  8.  The  Organs,  or 
Cathedral  Musick;  9.  The  Booke  of  Common  Prayer; 
10.  Prelacy,  or  Church  Government  by  Bishops. 

It  is  said  that  other  books  than  this  one  are  still  in 
existence  with  the  mark  of  the  Boston  Library  before 
1700  upon  them,  but  I  have  not  as  yet  found  them,  or 
discovered  any  accurate  information  as  to  them. 

This  collection  of  books  in  the  Public  Library  of 

[  124  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Boston  in  the  Town  House  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  collection  of  books  in  the  Library  of  Boston 
belonging  to  King's  Chapel,  and  now  in  the  custody 
of  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  These  books  were  given 
to  King's  Chapel  by  King  William,  in  1698,  and  con- 
sisted of  ninety-two  folios,  eighteen  quartos  and  ninety 
smaller  books.  It  has  been  said  that  this  was  the  only 
collection  of  books  not  of  private  ownership  in  New 
England  at  that  time,  except  the  library  of  Harvard 
College.  But  it  is  evident  that  there  was  at  that  time 
a  considerable  collection  in  the  Public  Library  of  Bos- 
ton in  the  Town  House. 

A  catalogue  of  the  books  in  the  King's  Chapel  li- 
brary is  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  1881.  This  collection  was 
partly  scattered  and  lost  in  the  Revolution,  and  in 
1824  the  volumes  remaining  were  deposited  with  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  where  they  now  are.  Of  these,  fif- 
teen volumes,  all  theological,  still  exist  there,  and  have 
stamped  upon  their  covers  in  gilt  letters : 


BELONGING  .  TO  .  Y  .  LIBRA 

RY  .  OF  .  BOSTON  .  IN  . 

NEW  .  ENGLAND. 


It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  these  books  never 
formed  any  part  of  the  Public  Library  at  Boston, 
which  was  kept  in  the  Town  House. 

[  125] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

The  spacious  second-floor  room  at  the  east  end  of 
the  Town  House,  which  Captain  Keayne  foresaw  as 
"a  Gallere  for  the  Eldrs  &  Schollrs  to  walke  &  meet 
in,"  was  not  destined  to  serve  only  as  a  peaceful  retreat 
for  the  students  and  divines  of  the  Colony.  In  it  were 
waged  two  of  the  bitterest  conflicts  of  the  years  which 
were  preparing  the  way  for  the  Revolution.  It  was  in 
this  room  that  "President"  Dudley  first  instituted 
the  worship  of  God  as  set  forth  by  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer;  and  from 
the  "presse"  in  this  room  was  doubtless  brought  the 
precious  Charter  of  the  Colony  when,  in  1664,  the 
General  Court,  fearing  that  it  might  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  commissioners,  appointed  four  trustworthy  per- 
sons "to  keepe  safe  and  secret  the  said  patent"  and  "to 
dispose  thereof  as  maybe  most  safe  for  the  country." 
Of  these  two  conflicts,  of  which  the  "scholars"  library 
was  the  scene,  a  full  account  is  given  in  the  later  con- 
sideration of  the  colonial  history  enacted  in  the  Town 
House. 


[  126  ] 


Use  of  the  Town  House  as  a 
Place  of  Worship 

THE  Town  House  was  the  place  where  worship 
was  first  had  in  Boston  according  to  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England.  Its  use  for  this 
purpose  is  an  interesting  event  in  the  long  controversy 
between  the  Puritan  Congregationalists,  who  would 
tolerate  no  worship  in  the  Colony,  except  after  their 
own  fashion  and  in  their  own  meeting-houses,  and  the 
Episcopalians,  who  wished  to  worship  according  to  the 
liturgy  of  the  English  Church.  The  intense  objection 
of  the  Puritans  to  this  form  of  worship  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  existed  when  the  Colony  was  planted. 

When  Winthrop  and  his  friends  left  England  they 
did  not  intend  to  give  up  their  connection  with  the 
English  Church.  On  the  contrary,  in  April,  1630,  they 
wrote  to  the  Fathers  and  their  brethren  in  the  Church 
of  England,  saying:  "We  desire  you  would  be  pleased 
to  take  notice  of  the  principals  and  body  of  our  com- 
pany as  those  who  esteem  it  our  honor  to  call  the 
Church  of  England,  from  which  we  rise,  our  dear  mo- 
ther and  we  cannot  part  from  our  native  country,  where 
she  specially  resideth,  without  much  sadness  of  heart, 
and  tears  in  our  eyes,  ever  acknowledging  that  such 
hope  and  part  as  we  have  obtained  in  the  common  sal- 
vation, we  have  received  it  in  her  bosom,  and  suckt  it 
from  her  breasts."  Winthrop  himself  owned  a  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  and  a  Life  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  both 
of  which  he  gave  with  his  books,  forty  in  number,  to 
Harvard  College.  But  in  less  than  ten  years  even  Win- 

[  127  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

throp's  grateful  and  tolerant  spirit  gave  way  to  vigor- 
ous repression  of  any  attempt  to  use  the  liturgy  of  the 
Prayer  Book  in  the  Colony. 

The  men  who  had  come  to  the  new  continent  in  pur- 
suit of  religious  liberty  soon  passed  laws  forbidding  the 
erection  of  a  house  where  God  might  be  worshipped  in 
any  other  way  than  that  approved  by  them.  The  penalty 
for  meeting  more  than  three  times  for  such  worship  was 
the  forfeiture  of  the  land  and  the  house  where  such 
meeting  was  held.  An  Act  of  May,  1679,  runs  thus: 

Forasmuch  as  it  hath  too  often  hapned,  that,  through  dif- 
ferences arising  in  seuerall  tounes  on  other  pretences,  there  hath 
been  attempts  by  some  persons  to  errect  new  meeting  houses,  al- 
though on  pretence  of  the  publick  worship  of  God  on  the  Lords 
dayes,  yet  thereby  laying  a  foundation  (if  not  for  schisme  and 
seduction  to  error  &  haeresies)  for  perpetuating  divissions  & 
weakning  such  places  where  they  dwell  in  the  comfortable  support 
of  the  ministry  orderly  settled  amongst  them,  for  prevention 
whereof  for  the  future,  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court  and  the  au- 
thority thereof,  that  no  persons  whatsoeuer,  wthout  the  consent 
of  the  freemen  of  the  toune  where  they  liue  first  orderly  had  & 
obteyned  at  a  publick  meeting  assembled  for  that  end,  and  li- 
cence of  the  County  Court,  or,  in  defect  of  such  consent  &  license, 
by  the  speciall  order  of  the  Gennerall  Court,  shall  errect  or  make 
vse  of  any  house  as  aboue  sajd;  and  in  case  any  person  or  per- 
sons shall  be  conuicted  of  transgressing  this  lawe,  euery  such 
house  or  houses  wherein  such  persons  shall  so  meet  more  than 
three  times,  with  the  land  whereon  such  house  or  houses  stand, 
and  all  private  wayes  leading  thereto,  shall  be  forfeited  to  the 
vse  of  the  county,  and  disposed  of  by  the  county  Tresurer  by 
sale  or  demollishing,  as  the  Court  that  gaue  judgment  in  the  case 
shall  order. 

One  of  the  principal  complaints  against  the  Puritan 
government  under  the  Charter  was  their  religious  in- 

[  128  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

tolerance,  and  especially  their  refusal  to  permit  worship 
according  to  the  forms  and  ritual  of  the  Church  of 
England.  When  pressed  by  the  Crown  to  permit  the 
use  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  they  declined  to 
do  so,  saying: 

Concerning  the  vse  of  the  Cofhon  Prayer  Booke. 
Our  humble  addresses  to  his  majty  haue  fully  declared  our 
majne  ends  in  our  being  voluntary  exiles  from  our  deare  native 
country,  which  wee  had  not  chosen  at  so  deare  a  rate,  could  wee 
haue  seene  the  word  of  God,  warranting  us  to  performe  our  de- 
votions in  that  way,  &  to  haue  the  same  set  vp  here:  wee  con- 
ceive it  is  apparent  that  it  will  disturbe  our  peace  in  our  present 
enjoyments. 

Not  only  were  persons  forbidden  to  choose  their  own 
way  of  worship,  but  they  were  compelled  to  attend 
upon  public  worship  as  established  by  the  government, 
each  Lord's  Day  and  on  all  Fast  Days  and  Thanks- 
giving Days.  In  1646  the  following  order  was  passed: 

Wherever  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  is  Established,  according 
to  the  Order  of  the  Gospel  throughout  this  Jurisdiction ;  Every 
person  shall  duely  resort  and  attend  thereunto  respectively  on 
the  Lords  dayes,  and  upon  such  publick  Fast  dayes,  and  dayes  of 
Thanksgiving,  as  are  to  be  generally  observed  by  appointment 
of  Authority.  And  if  any  person  within  this  Jurisdiction  shall 
without  just  and  necessary  cause,  withdraw  himself  from  the  pub- 
lick  Ministry  of  the  Word,  after  due  means  of  conviction  used, 
he  shall  forfeit  for  his  absence  from  every  such  publick  meeting 
Jive  shillings.  And  all  such  offences  may  be  heard  and  determined 
from  time  to  time,  by  any  one  or  more  Magistrates. 

This  was  tyranny  equalled  only  by  the  Act  of  the 
Cromwellian  Parliament  making  it  a  crime  to  use  the 
service  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  even  in  private 
devotions,  and  caused   constant  disturbance  in   the 

C°l0ny-  [  129  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Another  of  the  persistent  controversies  in  the  Colony 
between  Episcopalian  and  Puritan  was  over  the  ques- 
tion whether  marriages  might  be  solemnized  by  clergy- 
men, and  especially  by  clergymen  of  the  Church  of 
England.  The  Puritans  regarded  marriage  as  a  civil  con- 
tract with  which  the  Church  ought  to  have  nothing  to 
do,  and  enforced  this  view  by  law.  The  colony  law  of 
1646  provided  that  "No  person  whatsoever  in  this  juris- 
diction shall  joyne  any  persons  together  in  Marriage, 
but  the  Magistrate  or  such  other  as  the  General  Court 
or  the  Court  of  Assistants  shall  Authorize  in  such  place 
where  no  Magistrate  is  near.  Nor  shall  any  joyne  them- 
selves in  Marriage  but  before  some  Magistrate  or  per- 
son Authorized  as  aforesaid.  "# 

But  when  the  Charter  was  vacated  and  Dudley  arrived 
from  England  in  1686,  with  the  English  clergyman 
Ratcliffe  in  his  company,  he  lost  no  time  in  asserting  the 
right  of  the  Church  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony. 
Only  three  days  after  the  first  Prayer  Book  service  was 
held,  the  first  marriage  by  a  duly  accredited  minister  of 
the  English  Church  was  solemnized  in  Massachusetts, 
and  service  was  held  in  the  Town  House.  The  sharp- 
eyed  Puritan,  Judge  Sewall,  says  of  this  under  date  of 
May  18,  1686:  "A  great  Wedding  from  Milton,  and 
are  married  by  Mr.  Randolph's  Chaplain,  at  Mr.  Shrimp- 
ton's,  according  to  the  Service-Book,  a  little  after  noon, 
when  Prayer  was  had  at  the  Town-House." 

*  Colony  Laws,  1672,  Whitmore  Ed.,  p.  102. 

Province  Laws,  1692-3,  Ch.  25;  1695-6,  Ch.  2;  1716,  Ch.  16;  1772-3,  Ch.  230. 
Ch.  3,  Laws  1786 ;  Ch.  141,  Laws  1818 ;  Ch.  55,  Laws  1820 ;  Ch.  172,  Laws  1834. 
In  this  last  Act  the  words  "who  has  been  ordained  according  to  the  usage  of 
his  denomination  "  are  first  found. 

t  130  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Eleven  days  later  a  proclamation  was  made,  giving 
all  ministers  the  right  to  solemnize  marriage,  and  for- 
bidding any  other  persons  to  do  so  without  a  licence 
from  the  president,  as  follows : 

At  a  Councill  held  in  Boston  in  New  England  on  May  the 
*9th-  168&  Present 

The  Honble  Joseph  Dudley  Esqre  President. 

a  Proclamation  published,  impow'ring  the  severall  Ministers 
and  Justices  of  the  peace  in  his  Majtys  territory  to  consumate 
marriage,  and  no  other  persons  without  Licence  from  the  Presi- 
dent or  his  Deputy,  and  entred  with  the  Secretary  before  mar- 
riage. 

This  was  the  only  order,  vote,  or  proclamation  re- 
garding the  solemnization  of  marriages  found  in  the 
Archives  from  1686  to  1689.  It  is  noted  by  Hutchinson, 
and  Foote,  in  his  ''Annals  of  King's  Chapel,"  speaks  of 
it,  but  dates  it  May  26  instead  of  May  29. 

Under  the  Andros  government,  a  curious  custom 

obtained  by  which  the  prospective  bridegroom  or  his 

friends  were  obliged  to  give  bonds  with  sureties  to  the 

governor,  "to  be  forfeited  in  case  there  should  be  any 

lawful  impediment"  and  to  secure  him  against  "all 

trouble  which  may  or  shall  any  wayes  arise"  by  reason 

of  granting  a  licence  to  marry.  The  following  are  copies 

of  some  of  these  bonds  now  in  the  Massachusetts 

Archives : 

Know  all  men  by  these  prsents  That  Wee  George  Henly,  Tal- 
low Chandler,  and  John  Higgs  Clothworther  both  of  Boston  in 
HisMatys.  Territory  and  Dominion  of  New  Engld  are  firmly  bound 
unto  Edward  Randolph  Esqr  Secfy  of  his  Matys  sd  Territory 

[131  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

and  Dominion  in  the  sume  of  fifty  pounds  currant  mony  of  New 
England  to  wch  payment  well  and  truly  to  be  made  We  bind 
our  selves  joyntly  &  severally,  Our  heires  Executors  Admrs  & 
assignes  firmly  by  these  prsents.  Wittness  our  hands  and  Seals 
this  29th  of  Decemb1*  1686  in  the  Second  year  of  his  Matys.  Reigne. 
The  Condicon  of  the  above  Obligacon  is  Such,  That  If  the 
above-bound  George  Henly  and  John  Higgs  shall  Sufficiently 
keep  and  Same  harmless  the  aforesaid  Edward  Randolph  Esq1*, 
from  all  troubls  which  may  or  shall  any  wayes  arise  by  the  Said 
Edward  Randolphs  Granting  a  License  to  James  Berry  and  Eliza- 
beth Carwithen  (both  of  Boston  aforesd  to  be  joynd  in  matri- 
mony, that  then  this  obligacon  to  be  Void  otherwise  to  remaine 
in  full  forcfe]  and  Virtue. 

Signed,  Sealed  &  deliverd)  George  henly 

in  ye  prsence  of  us  J  John  Higgs 

Josh.  Brodbent 
John  Clarke. 

Know  all  men  by  these  prsents  That  wee  John  Jacob  of  Boston 
Merchant  and  Hudson  Leverett  of  Boston  Getleman  —  are 
holden  &  stand  firmely  bound  vnto  his  Excellency  Sr  Edmund 
Andros  En*  Capt  Grail  and  Governo1*  in  Cheife  of  his  Maties 
Territory  &  Dominion  of  New  England  &c  In  the  penall  sume  of 
Two  Hundred  pounds  New  England  money  to  be  paid  to  the  said 
Sr  Edmund  Andros  Or  his  Certeyne  Attourney  Exers  or  adminrs 
For  the  wch  payment  well  &  truly  to  be  made  wee  bind  Our  selves 
&  each  of  vs  Our  heires  Exers  and  adminrs  Joyntly  &  seually  for 
&  in  the  whole  firmely  by  these  prsents  Dated  the  sixth  day  of  Oc- 
tober Annoq  Dni  1687  Anno  R  Rs  Jacobi  Secdi  nunc  Angl"  &ca. 

The  Condicon  of  this  Obligacon  is  such  That  if  hereafter  there 
shall  not  appeare  any  Lawfull  Lett  or  Impediment  by  reason 
of  any  pr  contract  Consanguinity  Affinity  or  any  other  Lawfull 
meanes  whatsoeu  but  that  the  abovesaid  John  Jacob  and  Susan- 
nah Lendall  of  Boston  Widdow  may  Lawfully  Solemnize  Mar- 
riage Togeather  and  in  the  same  afterwards  Lawfully  remaine  & 
Continue  like  man  and  wife  According  to  the  Lawes  in  that  be- 

[  132  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

halfe  provided  That  then  the  above  written  Obligacon  to  be  void 
&  of  none  Effect  or  else  to  Stand  &  remaine  in  full  force  &  vertue.  / 
Signed  sealed  and  Deliued  John  Jacob 

in  the  prsence  of./  Hudson  Leverett 

JN  BONAMY 

P  Heyman 

Know  all  men  by  these  prsents  That  Wee  John  Price  of  Water- 
town  and  Mary  Price  of  the  Same  Towne  in  his  Mats.  Dom :  of 
New  Engld  are  firmly  bound  in  the  Sume  of  fifty  Pound  mony 
of  New  England  to  his  Exce.  Sr.  Edmond  Andros  Kn*.  Gov1",  of 
his  Mas  Dom.  aforesd.  to  which  paym1.  Well  and  truly  to  be 
made  We  bind  Our  selves  joyntly  and  Severally  Our  heirs  Exe- 
cutors  Admrs.  and  Assigns  firmly  by  these  prsents.  Witness  our 
hands  and  Seals  this  twenty  Ninth  of  March  1686 

The  Condicon  of  this  Obligacon  is  Such  y*  if  the  above  bound 
John  Price  and  Mary  Price  shall  sufficiently  Save  and  keep  harm- 
less the  aforesd.  Sr  Edmd.  Andros  from  all  manner  of  trouble  or 
mollestacon  wch  may  or  shall  hereafter  happen  by  the  sd  Sr.  Ed- 
mond Andros's  granting  a  License  for  marriage  to  James  Knap 
and  Mary  Claytr.  of  Watertown  aforesd.  then  this  Obligacon  to 
be  void  otherwise  to  Remaine  in  force  and  Virtue./ 

his 
signed  sealed  &  delivd.  John  x  Price 

in  the  prsence  of  us.  Marke 

her 

Mary  x  Price 

marke 

Know  all  men  by  these  prsents  That  wee  Thomas  Whiteing  of 
the  Island  of  Jamaice  Marriner  and  Marke  Sandford  of  Boston 
Marriner  are  holden  and  stand  firmely  bound  vnto  his  Excel- 
lency Sr  Edmd  Andros  Kn*  Cap*  Grail  &  Governour  in  Cheife 
vndr  his  most  sacred  Majestie  James  the  second  King  of  Eng- 
land &ca  In  &  over  the  Territory  &  Dominion  of  New  England 
in  200 lb  Currant  money  of  New  England  aforesd  to  be  paid  to  his 
sd  Excellency  Sr  Edmund  Andros  his  Execrs  Adminrs  or  assignes 

[  133  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

To  wch  paym1  well  truly  to  be  made  Wee  bind  our  selves  & 
each  of  us  Our  &  each  of  our  heires  Execrs  Administrator  &  as- 
signes  Joyntly  &  seually  for  &  in  the  whole  firmely  by  these 
prsents  Sealed  with  our  seales  Dated  the  Seaven  &  Twentieth  day 
of  December  Anno  Dni  1678  Annoq  R  Rs  Jac°  Secdi  nunc  An- 
glia  &ca  tertio./ 

The  Condicon  of  this  Obligation  is  Such  That  if  hereafter  there 
shall  not  appeare  any  Lawfull  Lett  or  Impediment  by  reason  of  any 
pr  contract  Consanguinity  Affinity  or  any  other  Lawfull  meanes 
whatsoever  but  that  the  above  said  Thomas  Whiteing  and  Mary 
Hony  well  of  Boston  Spinster  may  Lawfully  Solemnize  Marriage 
togeather  and  in  the  Same  afterwards  Lawfully  remaine  and  Con- 
tinue Like  man  and  wife  According  to  the  Lawes  in  that  be- 
halfe  Provided  That  then  the  above  written  Obligation  to  be 
void  and  of  none  Effect  or  else  to  stand  and  remaine  in  full  force 
&  vertue./ 

Signed  Sealed  and  Deliued  in  Thos  :  Whyteing 

the  prsence  of  vs./  Mark  Sandford 

Abr  Smith 
Peter  Heyman 

The  only  Episcopal  minister  in  the  Colony  was  Rat- 
cliffe.  It  may  be  surmised  that  the  Puritans  had  no 
mind  to  pay  money  to  one  whose  services  were  so  hate- 
ful to  them.  Randolph  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  London 
suggesting  that  the  maintenance  of  the  ministers — 
meaning  of  course  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land— would  be  helped  by  a  provision  that  "no  mar- 
riages shall  hereafter  be  allowed  lawful  but  such  as 
are  made  by  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England." 
That  ingenious  device,  however,  came  to  naught. 

In  1692  the  General  Court  acted  upon  the  matter 
of  solemnizing  marriages  by  providing  that  every  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  within  the  county  where  he  resided, 
and  every  settled  minister  within  the  town  where  he 

[  134  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

was  settled,  might  solemnize  marriages,  and  should 
keep  a  register  thereof.  The  strict  Puritans  objected  to 
this,  believing  that  ministers  should  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter.  Sewall  makes  the  following  quaint 
and  sour  entry  with  regard  to  the  passage  of  this  Act, 
on  November  4,  1692: 

Law  passes  for  Justices  and  Ministers  Marrying  persons.  By 
order  of  the  Comittee,  I  had  drawn  up  a  Bill  for  Justices  and  such 
others  as  the  Assembly  should  appoint  to  marry:  but  (it)  came 
new-drawn  and  thus  alter'd  from  the  Deputies.  It  seems  they 
count  the  respect  of  it  too  much  to  be  left  any  longer  with  the 
Magistrate.  And  Salaries  are  not  spoken  of;  as  if  one  sort  of  Men 
might  live  on  the  Aer.  They  are  treated  like  a  kind  of  useless, 
worthless  folk. 

It  may  be  noted  here  again  that  the  question  of  the 

legality  of  marriage  to  a  deceased  wife's  sister  arose  in 

the  Colony,  and  Se wall's  "Diary"  gives  an  account  of 

the  summary  settlement  of  it  as  follows : 

Friday,  June  14,  (1695)  The  Bill  against  Incest  was  passed 
with  the  Deputies,  four  and  twenty  Nos,  and  seven  and  twenty 
Yeas.  The  Ministers  gave  in  their  Arguments  yesterday  in  Writ- 
ing; else  it  had  hardly  gon,  because  several  have  married  their 
wives  sisters,  and  the  Deputies  thought  it  hard  to  part  them. 
'Twas  concluded  on  the  other  hand,  that  not  to  part  them,  were 
to  make  the  Law  abortive,  by  begetting  in  people  a  conceipt  that 
such  Marriages  were  not  against  the  Law  of  God. 

To  return  to  the  consideration  of  the  process  by  which 
the  Crown,  after  the  revocation  of  the  Charter,  set  up 
the  worship  of  God  according  to  the  Prayer  Book, 
we  may  note  that  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  was 
claimed  by  the  Bishop  of  London  as  a  part  of  his  dio- 
cese. Accordingly,  he  selected  the  Rev.  Robert  Rat- 
cliffe  to  go  to  Boston,  and  there  establish  the  service 

[135] 


The  Story  of  the 

which  had  been  so  vigorously  opposed  by  the  colonists, 
and  the  Privy  Council  recommended  him  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Colony  for  "a  kinde  entertainment  and  suit- 
able maintenance." 

Ratcliffe  came  to  Boston  in  the  frigate  Rose  with 
Dudley  and  Randolph,  the  arch-promoter  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  Colony  Charter.  At  this  time  Hutchin- 
son says:  "There  had  been  very  few  instances  of  even 
occasional  assemblies  for  religious  worship  according  to 
the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England  for 
more  than  fifty  years."  The  commissioners  of  1665  had, 
indeed,  had  a  chaplain ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
ever  officiated  in  the  Colony,  and  his  instructions  from 
England  were,  if  he  should  do  so,  not  to  wear  his  sur- 
plice. But  the  new  president,  Joseph  Dudley,  although 
he  had  been  a  Congregational  minister  in  early  life, 
had  become  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England  and 
was  afterwards  an  active  vestryman  of  King's  Chapel. 
On  May  15, 1686,  the  next  Sunday  after  the  landing  of 
the  Rose,  Ratcliffe  preached  in  the  Town  House,  or, 
as  it  had  then  become,  the  Council  House,  and  "read 
Common-Prayer  in  his  Surplice,  which  was  so  great  a 
Novelty  to  the  Bostonians  that  he  had  a  very  large 
Audience." 

Mr.  Ratcliffe  at  once  took  steps  to  procure  a  place 
where  he  might  hold  Episcopal  services.  His  first  plan 
seems  to  have  been  to  obtain  permission  to  hold  ser- 
vices in  one  of  the  Congregational  meeting-houses  at 
hours  when  they  were  not  in  use  for  the  services  of 
their  own  congregations.  There  were  then  three  meet- 
ing-houses,— the  First  Church,  on  the  Corn-Hill,  near 

[136] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

the  Town  House  where  the  present  Rogers  Building 
now  stands;  the  Second  Church,  opened  in  1650,  which 
stood  at  the  head  of  North  Square;  and  the  South 
Church,  opened  in  1670,  which  stood  where  the  pre- 
sent Old  South  Meeting-House  now  stands,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Washington  and  Milk  streets.  But  the  ministers 
and  parishioners  worshipping  in  these  churches  re- 
garded service  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  as  profane,  and  stoutly  refused  to  allow  it  in 
their  meeting-houses  upon  any  terms,  and  it  was  finally 
arranged  that  Mr.  Ratcliffe  might  hold  services  in  the 
Town  House.  Sewall  notes  in  his  diary : 

Wednesday,  May  26.  Mr.  Ratcliffe,  ye  Minister,  waits  on  ye 
Council;  Mr.  Mason  and  Randolph  propose  y*  he  may  have  one 
of  ye  3  Houses  to  preach  in.  That  is  deny'd,  and  he  is  granted  ye 
East  end  of  ye  Town  House,  where  ye  Deputies  used  to  meet; 
until  those  who  desire  his  Ministry  shall  provide  a  fitter  place. 

On  May  30  Sewall  again  notes : 

My  son  reads  to  me  in  course  ye  26th  of  Isaiah, — In  that  day 
shall  ye  Song,  etc.  And  we  sing  ye  141  Psalm  both  exceedingly 
suited  to  ye  day.  Wherein  thereis  to  be  Worship  according  to  ye 
Chh  of  Engld  as  'tis  call'd,  in  ye  Town  House  by  Countenance 
of  Authority.  Tis  defer'd  till  ye  6th  of  June  at  what  time  ye  Pul- 
pit is  provided ;  it  seems  many  crowded  thether,  and  ye  Ministers 
preached  forenoon  and  Afternoon.  Charles  Lidget  there.  The  pul- 
pit is  movable,  earned  up  and  down  stairs,  as  occasion  serves. 

It  was  in  the  east  end  of  the  Town  House,  in  the 
Library  Chamber,  that  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of 
England  was  for  the  first  time  publicly  read  in  Boston; 
and  June  15, 1686,  "the  Church  of  England  as  by  law 
established"  was  organized  in  Boston.  This  appears  from 
the  first  record  of  that  organization,  which  now  con- 

[  137  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

stitutes  the  Church  of  King's  Chapel.  These  records 
show  that  at  the  first  meeting  it  was  "  Agreed,  that 
Mr.  Smith  the  Joyner  do  make  12  formes  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Church."  July  4,  1686,  it  was  agreed  that 
"Mr.  Smith,  the  Joynr  doe  make  a  readding  table  and 
Desk;"  "that  a  Cushion  be  bought  for  ye  Pulpitt;"  and 
that  "there  be  a  Sacrament  the  2  Sabath  in  August 
next;"  also,  "That  the  prayers  of  ye  Church  be  said 
every  Wednesday  and  Friday  in  the  yeare,  for  the  pre- 
sent, in  the  Library  chamber  in  ye  town  house  in  Bos- 
ton, and  in  the  Summer  Season  to  beginne  at  7  of  the 
Clock  in  the  morneing,  and  in  the  Winter  Season  at 
9  of  the  Clock  in  the  Forenoone." 

On  August  8  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
celebrated  in  the  Town  House,  and  the  records  show 
that  a  collection  was  taken  up  amounting  to  £1  3  s., 
which  is  noted  as  "Cash  rec'd  at  ye  Sacrament."  Sewall, 
observant  of  everything  that  took  place,  notes  in  his 
diary:  "Sabbath-day,  Aug1  8.  'Tis  sd  ye  Sacramt  of  3^ 
Lord's  Super  is  administered  at  ye  Town  H." 

The  Town  House  and  the  Library  Chamber  therein 
were  thus  put  to  a  use  which  the  pious  Captain  Keayne, 
who  in  his  last  will,  by  which  he  provided  for  its  con- 
struction, "renownced  all  Popish  &  Prelaticall  supersti- 
tions," and  the  others  by  whose  bounty  it  was  provided, 
certainly  never  contemplated  and  would  undoubtedly 
have  absolutely  condemned.  The  following  notes  by 
Sewall  show  what  then  took  place : 

August  5,  1686,  Wm  Harrison,  the  Bodies-maker,  is  buried, 
which  is  the  first  that  I  know  of  buried  with  the  Common-Prayer 
Book  in  Boston.  He  was  formerly  Mr.  Randolph's  landlord. 

[  138  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Friday,  Aug1 20, 1  was  and  am  in  great  exercise  about  ye  Cross 
to  be  put  into  ye  Colours,  and  afraid  if  I  should  have  a  hand  in't 
whether  it  may  not  hinder  my  Entrance  into  ye  Holy  Land. 

Septr  15.  Mr.  David  Gefiries  marries  Mrs.  Betty  Usher  before 
Mr.  Ratcliffe. 

Friday,  Nov1".  5,  One  Mr.  Clark  preaches  at  the  Town-House. 
Speaks  much  against  the  Presbyterians  in  England  and  here. 

Satterday,  Novr.  6.  One  Robinson  Esq1".,  that  came  from  An- 
tego,  is  buried;  first  was  had  to  the  Town-House  and  set  before 
the  Pulpit,  where  Mr.  Buckley  preaches.  The  President  and  many 
others  there.  Common-Prayer  used. 

Friday,  Nov1".  12.  Jn°  Griffin  is  this  week  buried  with  the  Comon- 
Prayer :  Which  is  the  third  funeral  of  this  sort,  as  far  as  I  can 
learn. 

It  is  said  that  at  this  time  there  were  several  hundred 
persons  in  Boston  who  desired  to  worship  according  to 
the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England ;  but  however  this 
may  be,  the  Library  Room  doubtless  afforded  limited 
accommodation  for  such  as  desired  to  worship  in  that 
manner.  Randolph,  in  a  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  in  October,  1686,  complains  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England  were  compelled  to  wor- 
ship in  "a  little  room  in  their  towne  house  but  found  it 
so  straite"  that  they  were  forced  to  worship  in  the  Ex- 
change, where,  he  says,  "our  minister  preaches  twice  a 
day  and  baptises  all  that  come  to  him,  some  infants, 
some  adult  persons ;"  and  adds,  "We  are  now  going  to 
have  praiers  every  Wednesday  and  Friday  morning  on 
their  Exchange." 

Doubtless  there  was  continual  complaint  that  the 
Episcopalians  were  not  permitted  to  hold  services  in 
either  of  the  meeting-houses.  Dudley,  however,  was  a 

[  139  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

prudent,  cautious  man,  and  though  himself  then  of  the 
Church  of  England,  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  force  the 
people  in  such  a  matter.  But  being  a  royal  governor 
Dudley  did  not  suit  the  colonists,  and  being  a  prudent 
governor  he  did  not  suit  the  Crown.  Accordingly,  he 
was  soon  superseded  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  who  ar- 
rived in  Boston  on  December  20,  1686,  with  a  com- 
mission which  authorized  him  to  suppress  all  indepen- 
dence of  the  people.  This  he  at  once  attempted  to  do. 

One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  attempt  to  force  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Church  of  England  into  the  meeting-houses 
of  the  Boston  Puritans.  On  the  day  of  his  landing  he 
spoke  to  the  ministers  of  the  churches  in  the  Library 
Room  of  the  Town  House,  to  see  if  they  would  not 
permit  the  Church  of  England  services  to  be  conducted 
in  one  of  the  meeting-houses. 

Sewall  notes: 

Monday,  Decr.  20.  1686.  Govern  our  Andros  comes  up  in  the 
Piiiace,  touches  at  the  Castle,  Lands  at  Govr.  Leveret's  wharf 
about  %  P.  M.  where  the  President,  &c.  meet  him  and  so  march 
up  through  the  Guards  of  the  8  Companyes  to  the  Town  House, 
where  part  of  the  Comission  read:  He  hath  power  to  suspend 
Councillors  and  to  appoint  others  if  the  number  be  reduced  to  less 
than  Seven.  He  and  Council  to  make  Laws.  Then  took  the  Oath 
of  Allegiance  as  Governour,  then  about  eight  of  the  Council 
sworn.  Court  clear'd.  Governour  stood  with  his  Hat  on  when 
Oaths  given  to  Councillours.  It  seems  speaks  to  the  Ministers  in 
the  Library  about  accommodation  as  to  a  Meeting-house  (for 
church  services),  that  might  so  contrive  the  time  as  one  House 
might  serve  two  Assemblies. 

It  was  then  and  there  in  the  Library  Chamber  of  the 
Boston  Town  House  that  the  Cavalier  and  the  Puritan 
again  looked  each  other  in  the  face  with  determined 

[  140  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

and  unrelenting  enmity.  Andros  fitly  represented  the 
corrupt  Stuart  dynasty,  and  Mather  and  Willard  and 
Mayhew  and  Allen,  ministers  of  Boston,  the  bigoted 
Puritanism  of  the  plain  people  of  New  England.  The 
ministers,  however,  asked  time  to  consider  the  matter, 
and  the  course  of  events  is  shown  by  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  Sewall's  "Diary:" 

Tuesday,  December  21,  There  is  a  Meeting  at  Mr.  Allen's,  of 
the  Ministers  and  four  of  each  Congregation,  to  consider  what 
answer  to  give  the  Governour;  and  'twas  agreed  that  could  not 
with  a  good  conscience  consent  that  our  Meeting-Houses  should 
be  made  use  of  for  the  Common-Prayer  Worship. 

Decr.  22.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Mather  and  Willard  thorowly 
discoursed  his  Excellency  about  the  Meeting-Houses  in  great 
plainess,  showing  they  could  not  consent.  This  was  at  his  Lodg- 
ing at  Madam  Taylor's.  He  seems  to  say  will  not  impose. 

Satterday,  Decr.  25.  Governour  goes  to  the  Town-House  to 
Service  Forenoon  and  Afternoon,  a  Red-Coat  going  on  his  right 
hand  and  Capt.  George  on  the  left.  Was  not  at  Lecture  on  Thors- 
day.  Shops  open  today  generally  and  persons  about  their  occasions. 
Some,  but  few,  Carts  at  Town  with  wood,  though  the  day  exceed- 
ing fair  and  pleasant.  Read  in  the  morn  the  46.  and  47.  of  Isa., 
and  at  night  Mr.  Norton  from  Jn°  9.  3.  Neither  this  Man  nor  his 
Parents. 

Services  continued  to  be  held  in  the  Town  House 
until  the  spring  of  1687.  Sewall  notes  on  January  31, 
1687,  there  was  service  in  the  Town  House,  "respect- 
ing ye  beheading  Charles  ye  First,"  and  the  governor 
was  there.  Andros,  however,  was  insistent  that  one  of 
the  meeting-houses  should  be  used  for  the  Episcopalian 
service,  and  finally  sent  for  the  keys  of  the  South  Meet- 
ing-house, where  Judge  Sewall  worshipped.  He  records 
as  follows: 

[141  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Wednesday,  March  23,  The  Governour  sends  Mr.  Randolph 
for  the  Keys  of  our  Meetinghouse,  that  may  say  Prayers  there. 
Mr.  Eliot,  Frary,  Oliver,  Savage,  Davis  and  my  Self  wait  on  his 
Excellency,  shew  that  the  Land  and  House  is  ours,  and  that  we 
can't  consent  to  part  with  it  to  such  use;  exhibit  an  Extract  of 
Mrs.  Norton's  Deed,  and  how  'twas  built  by  particular  persons, 
as  Hull,  Oliver,  100.£  apiece,  &c. 

Also  that  on 

Friday,  March  25,  1687,  The  Governour  has  service  in  the 
South  Meetinghouse.  Goodm.  Needham  (the  Sexton),  though  had 
resolved  to  the  contrary,  was  prevailed  upon  to  Ring  the  Bell  and 
open  the  door  at  the  Governour's  Comand,  one  Smith  and  Hill, 
Joiner  and  Shoemaker,  being  very  busy  about  it. 

Governor  Andros's  account  of  this  matter  was  that 

he  "borrowed"  the  meeting-house.  He  said: 

The  Church  of  England  being  unprovided  of  a  place  for  theyr 
publique  worship,  he  did,  by  advice  of  the  Councill,  borrow 
the  new  meeting  house  in  Boston,  at  such  times  as  the  same  was 
unused,  until  they  could  provide  otherwise ;  &  accordingly  on  Sun- 
days went  in  between  eleven  and  twelve  in  the  morning,  and  in 
the  afternoone  about  fower;  but  understanding  it  gave  offence, 
hastned  the  building  of  a  Church,  wch  was  effected  at  the  charge 
of  those  of  the  Church  of  England,  where  the  Chaplaine  of  the 
Souldiers  prformed  divine  service  &  preaching. 

Andros,  having  thus  taken  forcible  possession  of  the 
South  Meeting-house  for  the  service  of  the  Church  of 
England,  the  Episcopalians  ceased  to  use  the  Library 
Room  in  the  Town  House  and  worshipped  in  the  South 
Meeting-house,  against  the  objection  of  the  owners  of 
the  building,  during  the  remaining  two  years  of  An- 
dros's administration.  This  produced  perpetual  friction 
between  the  owners  of  the  meeting-house  and  the  gov- 
ernor and  others  who  used  it  for  Episcopalian  services. 

The  ministers  and  owners  would  not  even  allow  the 

[  142  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

bell  to  be  tolled  on  Wednesdays  or  Fridays  for  the 
Church  of  England  people  to  go  to  prayer,  saying  that 
it  "entrenched"  on  their  liberty  of  conscience  so  to  do. 
The  governor  desired  the  town  to  aid  in  building 
a  church  for  the  Episcopalians,  but  it  would  not;  and 
Sewall  records  an  exciting  interview  with  the  governor 
on  June  23,  1688,  as  to  this  refusal,  and  as  to  the  dif- 
ficulties which  arose  by  the  Episcopalians  having  their 
service  in  the  South  Meeting-house.  Further  informa- 
tion as  to  this  controversy  will  be  found  in  Se wall's 
"Diary"  (vol.  i.  p.  217)  and  Foote's  "Annals  of  King's 
Chapel"  (vol.  i.  p.  43  et  seq.). 


[  143  ] 


The  Use  of  the  Town  House 

by  the  Colony  Government  under  the 

Original  Charter:  1659-1686 

WHEN  the  General  Court  began  to  use  the  Bos- 
ton Town  House  in  1659,  the  colonists  were 
living  in  peace  under  their  Charter,  granted  by  Charles 
the  First,  on  the  fourth  day  of  March,  1629,  to  "the 
Governor  and  Companie  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England."  This  Charter  provided  for  a  government  by 
a  governor,  a  deputy  governor,  and  eighteen  assist- 
ants, to  be  "from  time  to  time  constituted  and  chosen 
out  of  the  freemen  of  the  said  companie,"  &c.  By  the 
law  of  the  Colony,  no  man  had  any  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment, or  any  vote,  unless  he  was  a  member  of  one 
of  the  churches.  No  church  society  could  be  gathered 
without  the  allowance  of  the  magistrates  consisting  of 
and  elected  by  members  of  the  churches,  and  it  was 
a  crime  to  preach  to  a  society  not  thus  allowed. 

The  Charter  gave  the  government  authority  to  hold 
each  year  "four  general  assemblies  styled  and  called 
the  foure  great  and  general  courts  of  the  said  Com- 
pany." It  gave  these  courts  authority  "from  tyme  to 
tyme  to  make,  ordain  and  establish  all  manner  of  whole- 
some and  reasonable  orders,  laws,  statutes,  and  ordi- 
nances, directions  and  instructions  not  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  this  our  realm  of  England."  Under  this  Charter 
the  governor,  deputy  governor,  and  assistants,  with  two 
persons  deputed  by  the  freemen  of  each  town  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  General  Court #  and  called  "deputies," 

*This  basis  of  representation  was  fixed  in  May,  1639,  and  continued  until 

[  145  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

constituted  the  colony  government  when  the  Town 
House  was  completed  in  1659.  At  that  time  there  were 
but  fourteen  assistants,  while  the  Charter  required 
eighteen. 

Up  to  this  time  the  English  government  had  paid 
but  little  attention  to  the  puny  Puritan  colony  on  the 
sterile  Massachusetts  coast.  Charles  I  had  been  exe- 
cuted, and  Oliver  Cromwell  had  succeeded  him  in  rule 
as  Lord  Protector;  but  though  there  had  been  occa- 
sional claims  that  the  colonists  had  assumed  powers 
not  given  by  the  Charter,  and  that  therefore  it  was  lia- 
ble to  be  revoked  and  forfeited,  and  although  they  had 
been  at  times  requested  to  send  the  Charter  to  England 
for  surrender,  no  effective  action  had  been  taken  to 
deprive  them  of  their  privileges  and  powers  under 
it* 

The  people  of  Boston  were  so  active  in  defence  of 
the  Charter  and  their  rights  under  it  that  the  entire 
Colony  was  frequently  called  by  the  Royalists  "The 
Corporation  of  Boston."  t  The  colonists  had  construed 
the  Charter  most  broadly,  and  had  made  laws  without 

1680  (Winthrop,  i.  300,  and  note).  Under  the  original  Charter  no  town  could 
have  more  than  two  deputies,  and  if  the  town  had  less  than  twenty  freemen  it 
had  only  one  deputy ;  if  it  had  less  than  ten  it  had  no  deputy,  and  no  attor- 
ney-at-law  could  be  a  deputy  (Hutchinson's  Collection,  p.  428). 
*In  Hutchinson's  Collection  (pp.  101-106)  will  be  found  a  copy  of  a  Quo  War- 
ranto against  the  Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay  by  the  Attorney-General 
of  England,  and  a  judgment  of  forfeiture  therein  entered  January,  1638.  Also 
a  letter  from  the  Lords  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Plantations,  reciting  the 
Quo  Warranto  and  judgment,  and  ordering  a  letter  to  be  sent  Governor  Win- 
throp, commanding  him,  or  any  other  in  whose  power  and  custody  the  letters 
patent  of  the  Colony  were,  to  transmit  the  said  patent  by  the  return  of  the 
ship  in  which  the  order  was  conveyed  to  them.  (See,  also,  Winthrop,  i.  269.) 
fSee  Randolph's  Report,  October  12,  1666,  and  Hutchinson's  Collection, 
Prince  Society  Edition,  ii.  210. 

[  146  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

regard  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  even  in  contraven- 
tion of  such  laws.  They  had  coined  money  in  their  own 
name;  had  issued  legal  processes  in  the  name  of  the 
Colony  without  reference  to  the  King;  had  even  cut 
the  cross  from  the  English  flag,  and  had  practically 
assumed  to  act  as  an  almost  independent  state,  with 
representative  government.  The  situation  was  such  that 
an  irrepressible  conflict  arose  between  the  colonists 
under  their  representative  government  and  the  Stuart 
dynasty,  under  its  claim  of  arbitrary  power  over  the 
Colony.  This  conflict  was  waged  in  and  about  the  Bos- 
ton Town  House.  A  review  of  some  of  the  acts  of  the 
General  Courts  there  assembled  will  show  the  reader 
many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  people  in  the  early 
time.  Their  vigour  in  dealing  with  all  matters  of  busi- 
ness, their  simplicity  in  passing  directly  from  the  most 
trivial  to  the  most  serious  acts,  the  sternness  and  sever- 
ity of  the  punishments  they  decreed,  and  their  devotion 
to  the  Charter  which,  as  they  believed,  secured  them 
their  liberties, — all  appear  in  the  records  of  their  do- 
ings in  the  old  Boston  Town  House. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  General  Court  held  in  the 
Town  House  was  on  May  11, 1659,  when  John  Endi- 
cott  was  chosen  governor  and  Richard  Bellingham 
deputy  governor.  Nine  assistants  were  chosen,  and 
Edward  Rawson  was  chosen  secretary.  Thirty-three 
deputies  were  returned  from  the  several  towns,  and 
Captain  Thomas  Savage  was  chosen  speaker. 

The  first  Act  passed  was  an  order  for  "settling  the 
poore"  so  that  they  might  be  relieved  by  the  town 
found  properly  chargeable  for  their  support.  An  Act 

[  147  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

was  then  passed  making  it  a  crime  to  observe  Christ- 
mas, as  follows: 

For  pventing  disorders  arising  in  seuerall  places  wthin  this 
jurisdiccon,  by  reason  of  some  still  observing  such  ffestiualls  as 
were  superstitiously  kept  in  other  countrys,  to  the  great  dishon- 
nor  of  God  &  offence  of  others,  it  is  therefore  ordered  by  this 
Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  whosoeuer  shall  be  found 
observing  any  such  day  as  Christmas  or  the  like,  either  by  for- 
bearing of  labour,  feasting,  or  any  other  way,  vpon  any  such  ac- 
counts as  aforesajd,  euery  such  person  so  offending  shall  pay  for 
euery  such  offence  fiue  shillings,  as  a  fine  to  the  county. 

At  this  time  England  was  in  the  confusion  that  fol- 
lowed the  death  of  Oliver  Cromwell  on  September  3, 
1658.  The  General  Court  therefore,  at  this  meeting, 
passed  the  following: 

This  Court,  taking  into  theire  serjous  consideration  the  pre- 
sent unsettled  estate  &  condicon  of  our  brethren  in  our  native 
countrje  by  comotions  &  great  thoughts  of  heart,  both  in  countrje 
&  Parliament,  now  assembled,  a  good  issue  whereof  doth  wholly 
depend  vpon  the  Lords  favor  &  goodnes  towards  them,  as  also 
the  Lords  frownes  vpon  ourselves  by  the  irreparable  rents  &  di- 
vissions  in  sundry  churches,  the  great  security  &  sensuality  vnder 
our  present  enjoyments,  the  sad  face  on  the  rising  generation, 
together  wth  threats  of  future  evills  in  this  present  spring  season, 
all  wch  are  signes  of  the  Lords  displeasure  for  our  wthdrawing  from 
him,  appoint  June  15th  as  a  solemne  day  of  humiliation  for  the 
imploring  of  Gods  favorable  presence  yett  to  abide  wth  our  deare 
natiue  country,  &  wth  vs  his  poore  people  &  churches  in  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  &  wth  our  seede  after  vs. 

On  October  18, 1659,  a  second  session  of  the  General 
Court  was  held  in  the  Town  House.  December  8  was 
appointed  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  and  the  following 
order  as  to  the  solemnization  of  marriages  was  passed : 

There  being  seuerall  tounes  wthin  this  jurisdiction  who  are 

[  148] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

not  only  remote  from  any  magistrate,  but  also  destitute  of  any 
person  impowred  to  solemnize  marriage,  the  want  whereof  is  an 
occasion  of  much  trouble  &  sometjmes  disapointment,  which  to 
prevent,  it  is  ordered,  that  Capt  Johnson  for  Wooborne,  Left 
French  for  Billirrikey  &  Chelmsford,  Wm  Coudrey  for  Redding, 
Capt  Marshall  for  Lynn,  Mr  Thomas  Nojce  for  Sudbury,  Mr  Edw 
Woodman  for  Newbury,  Left  Robert  Pike  for  Salisbury,  Left 
Christopher  Hussie  for  Hampton,  Capt  Eliazer  Lusher  for  Ded- 
ham,  Mr  Wheelocke  for  Meadfeild,  Capt  Joshua  Hubbard  for 
Hingham,  Capt  Wm  Torrey  for  Weimouth,  Mr  Peter  Brackett  for 
Braintrje,  shall  &  hereby  are  appointed  &  empowred  to  joyne  in 
marriage  such  persons  wthin  theire  respective  tounes  or  lj  mitts  as 
shall  desire  the  same,  being  published  according  to  lawe. 

They  then  passed  sentence  of  death  upon  Wm  Rob- 
binson,  Marmaduke  Stephenson,  &  Mary  Dyer,  as  ban- 
ished Quakers  who  had  returned,  and  issued  warrants 
for  their  execution  by  hanging.  Robinson  and  Stephen- 
son were  hanged  on  Boston  Common,  October  27, 
1659,  pursuant  to  the  warrant  of  the  General  Court ; 
but  in  the  case  of  Mary  Dyer,  they  gave  her  liberty  to 
depart  out  of  the  Colony  within  forty-eight  hours,  and 
to  be  "  kept  close  prisoner  till  hir  sonne  or  some  other 
be  ready  to  carry  hir  away  wthin  the  aforesajd  tjme." 
And  it  was  then  ordered  that  she  "be  carrjed  to  the 
place  of  execution,  &  there  to  stand  vpon  the  gallowes, 
with  a  rope  about  her  necke,  till  the  rest  be  executed,  & 
then  to  retourne  to  the  prison  remajne  as  aforesajd." 
Mary  Dyer  was  taken  away  at  that  time,  but  returned, 
and  was  hanged  on  the  Common,  June  1,  1660. 

They  then  issued  a  long  declaration  bristling  with 
Scriptural  quotations,  defending  their  treatment  of 
Quakers ;  ordered  a  fence  to  be  erected  about  the  prison 
and  house  of  correction  in  Boston  to  prevent  persons 

[  149  ] 


The  Story  of  :he 

to  banishment:  decided  disputes  arising  under  the  will 
of  Captain  Keayne;  returned  thanks  to  the  Rev 

J  :  ..'J.  y ::'::.  :;:  :_s  serv-.:-? :::  i:-.i" ^  ;:y  :;.e  ir:.iri- 

of  land  -as  a  smale  reconipence  for  his  pagnes 


Af::.:  :...-  z:\~t  ;/.:::. ;r.iri  Henry 


::  V.-vtzirer. 

;t::  lz  ~Jn:i  ::  :  :  zuri-ri  ::.t  7     -  :. 
ate  the  conduct  of  business  by  it  at 


-the  whole  Court  mett  to_ 
[aiy  Dyer  for  rebeDioushr  returning  into 
mild  be  hanged  on  the  first  day  of  June, 

:  -■•■■  : 


Old  Boston  Town  Hou 

"about  nine  of  the  clock  in  the  morning/"  and  b 
a  warrant  therefor. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  General  Court,  held  on 
October  16,  1660,  in  the  Town  House,  a  law  punish- 
ing suicide  was  passed  as  follow- : 

This  Court,  considering  how  farre  Sathan  doth  prevajle  vpon 
seuerall  persons  wthin  this  jurisdiction  to  make  away  themselves, 
judgeth  that  God  calls  them  to  beare  testimony  again s: 
wicked  and  vnnaturall  practises,  that  others  may  be  deterred 
therefrom,  doe  therefore  order,  that  from  henceforth  if  any  per- 
son, inhabitant  or  strainger,  shall  at  any  time  be  found  by  any 
jury  to  lay  violent  hands  on  themselves,  or  be  wilfully  guilty  of 
theire  oune  deaths,  euery  such  person  shall  be  denjed  the  privi- 
ledge  of  being  burjed  in  the  comon  burying  place  of  Christians 
but  shall  be  buried  in  some  comon  highway  where  the  selectmen 
of  the  toune  where  such  person  did  inhabit  shall  appoint,  &  a  cart 
loade  of  stones  layd  vpon  the  graue,  as  a  brand  of  infamy,  and 
as  a  warning  to  others  to  be  ware  of  the  like  damnable  practises. 

They  then  passed  additional  laws  for  the  trial,  con- 
viction, and  punishment  by  death  of  banished  Quakers : 
granted  Roxbury  live  hundred  acres  toward  the  main- 
tenance of  a  free  school ;  reproved  a  clergyman  for  hav- 
ing baptized  three  children  "after  the  exercise  was  ended 
upon  the  Lords  Day."  in  a  house  in  Falmouth,  "to  the 
offence  of  the  Government  of  this  Commonwealth;"' 
and  transacted  much  other  business. 

On  December  19.  1660,  i  session  of  the  General 
Court  was  called  by  the  governor,  and  a  long  address 
was  voted  to  be  made  to  King  Charles  II  and  another 
to  Parliament,  praying  that  the  grant  of  their  Charter 
might  be  confirmed,  and  commissioners  were  appointed 
and  instructed  to  deliver  the  petitions  to  the  King  and 
to  the  "High  Court  of  Parliament. ~ 

[  151  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

The  General  Court  again  met  in  the  Town  House 

on  May  22, 1661.  They  first  voted  a  bounty  on  wolves, 

and  then  passed  an  order  providing  as  follows : 

This  Court,  being  desirous  to  try  all  meanes,  wth  as  much  lenity 
as  may  consist  wth  our  safety,  to  prevent  the  intrusions  of  the 
Quakers,  who  besides  their  absurd  &  blasphemous  doctrine,  doe, 
like  rouges  &  vagabonds,  come  in  vpon  vs,  &  haue  not  bin  re- 
strained by  the  lawes  already  provided,  haue  ordered,  that  euery 
such  vagabond  Quaker  found  wthin  any  part  of  this  jurisdiction 
shall  be  apphended  by  any  person  or  persons,  or  by  the  connstable 
of  the  toune  wherein  he  or  she  is  taken,  &  by  the  connstable,  or, 
in  his  absence,  by  any  other  person  or  persons,  conveyed  before 
the  next  magistrate  of  that  sheire  wherein  they  are  taken,  or 
comissioner  invested  wth  magistratticall  power,  &,  being  by  the 
sajd  magistrate  or  magistrates,  comissioner  or  comissioners,  ad- 
judged to  be  a  wandering  Quaker,  viz1,  one  that  hath  not  any 
dwelling  or  orderly  allowance  as  an  inhabitant  of  this  jurisdiction, 
&  not  giving  ciuil  respect  by  the  vsuall  gestures  thereof,  or  by  any 
other  way  or  meanes  manifesting  himself  to  be  a  Quaker,  shall, 
by  warrant  vnder  the  hand  of  the  sajd  magistrate  or  magistrates, 
comissioner  or  comissioners,  directed  to  the  connstable  of  the  toune 
wherein  he  or  she  is  taken,  or  in  absence  of  the  connstable  or  any 
other  meete  person,  be  stripped  naked  from  the  midle  vpwards, 
&  tjed  to  a  carts  tayle,  &  whipped  throh  the  toune,  &  from  thence 
imediately  conveyed  to  the  connstable  of  the  next  toune  towards 
the  borders  of  our  jurisdiction,  as  theire  warrant  shall  direct,  & 
so  from  connstable  to  connstable  till  they  be  conveyed  thro  any 
the  outward  most  tounes  of  our  jurisdiction. 

The  order  then  provided  that  if  a  Quaker  should  re- 
turn and  be  thrice  convicted,  he  should  be  branded 
with  the  letter  R  on  his  left  shoulder,  be  severely 
whipped  and  be  sent  away  in  manner  as  before,  and  if 
he  again  returned  be  punished  with  death.  The  order 
also  provided  for  the  payment  of  expenses  that  might 

[  152  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

arise  from  apprehending,  whipping,  and  conveying 
Quakers  out  of  the  Colony,  and  authorized  the  con- 
stable "to  impresse  cart,  oxen  &  other  asistance  for  the 
execution  of  this  order." 

The  Court  then  censured  a  book  called  the"  Christian 
Commonwealth,"  by  John  Eliot  of  Roxbury,  ordered 
it  to  be  "totally  suppressed,"  and  required  all  persons 
having  the  book  to  "  either  cancel  &  deface  the  same, 
or  deliuer  them  vnto  the  next  magistrate  or  to  the  se- 
cretary." He  was  the  "Apostle  Eliot,"  who  translated 
the  Bible  into  the  Indian  language,  a  most  eminent 
and  pious  man.  A  special  Court  was  held  August  7, 
1661,  with  only  eight  assistants  and  sixteen  deputies 
present,  at  which  it  was  ordered  that  "the  kings  magty 
that  now  is  shall  be  proclaymed  here  in  the  forme  here- 
after expressed,  in  Boston,  on  the  eighth  day  of  this 
instant  August,  presently  after  the  lecture."  This  king 
was  Charles  II.  An  order  was  then  passed  declaring 
that  no  person  should  "psume  to  drincke  his  majtys 
health,  wch  he  hath  in  speciall  forbid,  and  that  this  or- 
der shall  be  posted  vp  in  Boston  this  present  day,  that 
all  persons  may  take  notice  thereof;"  and  the  order 
was  posted  accordingly  in  the  Town  House.  They  then 
ordered  that  the  "lawe  ljmitting  the  nomination  of  but 
fowerteen  Asistants  be  henceforth  repealed,  and  that 
the  freemen  be  at  liberty  to  choose  eighteene  Asistants, 
as  the  pattents  hath  ordeyned ; "  and  then  voted  another 
address  to  the  King,  in  which  they  prayed  God  to 
"preserve  him  from  all  emissaries  agitated  by  an  infer- 
nall  spirit,  vnder  what  appellations  soeuer  disguised." 

I  153] 


The  Story  of  the 

November  27,  1661,  a  special  session  of  the  General 
Court  called  by  the  governor  was  held,  a  letter  from 
the  King  was  read,  and  in  compliance  therewith  the 
Court  declared  that  the  execution  of  the  laws  in  force 
against  Quakers  "so  farr  as  they  respect  corporall  pun- 
ishm*  or  death,  be  suspended  vntill  this  Court  take 
further  order."  They  then  appointed  the  second  day  of 
January  following  to  be  "a  day  of  solemne  humillia- 
tion  and  supplication  to  the  Lord." 

At  a  General  Court  on  May  7,  1662,  Endicott  was 
again  chosen  governor,  and  there  were  present  ten  as- 
sistants and  twenty-eight  deputies.  The  first  act  at  that 
session  was  to  pass  the  following  order: 

As  an  adition  to  the  lawe  about  apparrell.  Whereas  excesse 
in  apparrell  amongst  vs,  vnbecoming  a  wildernes  condition,  &  the 
profession  of  the  gospell,  whereby  the  rising  generation  are  in 
dainger  to  be  corrupted  &  effeminated,  wch  practises  are  wit- 
nessed against  by  the  lawes  of  God  &  sundry  civil  &  Xtian  na- 
tions, it  is  therefore  ordered  &  enacted  by  this  Court  &  the  au- 
thority thereof,  that  all  persons  wthin  this  jurisdiction,  wther  the 
children  or  servants  that  are  vnder  goument  in  familys,  that  shall 
weare  any  apparrell  exceeding  the  quality  &  condition  of  their 
persons  or  estate,  or  that  is  apparently  contrary  to  the  ends  of 
apparrell,  &  either  of  these  to  be  so  judged  by  the  grand  jury  & 
County  Court  of  that  sheire  where  such  complaint  or  psentment 
is  made, — all  such  persons,  being  convicted,  shall  for  the  first  of- 
fence be  admonished,  for  the  second  offence  pay  a  fine  of  twenty 
shillings,  for  the  third  offenc  forty  shillings,  &  so  following,  as  the 
offences  are  multiplied,  to  pay  forty  shillings  a  tjme  to  the  trea- 
sury of  that  county.  Also,  if  any  taylor  shall  make  or  fashion  any 
garment  for  such  children  or  servants  vnder  gounment,  as  afore- 
sajd,  contrary  to  the  minde  &  order  of  their  parents  or  gounors, 
euery  such  taylor  shall  for  the  first  offence  be  admonished,  &  for 
the  second  offenc  to  forfeite  double  the  value  of  such  apparrell  or 

[  154  ] 


* 


'xdisv  6  rtxiCcxytt 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

garment  as  he  shall  fashin  or  make  contrary  to  the  minde  &  or- 
der of  parents  or  gounors;  halfe  to  the  owner  &  halfe  to  the 
country.  And  all  grand  jurymen  are  hereby  enjoyned  to  present 
all  those  whom  they  doe  judge  breakers  of  this  order. 

They  then  forbade  the  exportation  of  wheat  or  flour, 
and  appointed  the  fifth  day  of  the  next  month  as  a 
day  of  "fasting  &  prajer." 

October  8,  1662,  the  commissioners,  Simon  Brad- 
street,  Esq.,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Norton,  who  had 
in  1661  been  sent  to  England,  to  present  an  address  to 
the  King  and  to  seek  to  preserve  the  Colony  Charter, 
presented  a  letter  from  the  King,  which  was  read  by 
the  governor  to  the  whole  Court  of  the  Assistants  and 
the  Deputies  sitting  together  in  the  Town  House,  and 
the  Court  ordered  the  same  published,  and  ordered 
that  all  future  legal  proceedings  should  be  in  the  name 
of  His  Majesty.  Notwithstanding  this,  however,  some 
constables  and  town  officers  refused  to  publish  the 
King's  letter  or  to  serve  attachments  in  his  name,  and 
said  of  the  letter  that  it  was  "popery." 

Then,  referring  to  their  previous  order  suspending 
the  execution  of  Quakers,  they  provided  that  the  law 
of  May,  1661,  against  vagabond  Quakers,  should  be  in 
force  thereafter  in  all  respects,  but  that  the  whipping 
be  only  through  three  towns,  and  that  the  magistrate 
or  commissioners  signing  the  warrant  should  appoint 
the  towns  and  the  number  of  stripes  to  be  given  in  each 
town.  At  this  session  an  order  was  passed  fixing  the 
price  of  corn  and  other  commodities  to  be  paid  as  taxes, 
as  follows: 

Wheat,  barly,  &  barly  mault  at  flue  shillings  sixepence  p 

[  155] 


The  Story  of  the 

bushell,  pease  and  rye  at  fower  shillings  sixepenc,  &  Indian  at 
three  shillings,  all  good  &  merchantable  corne;  &  whateuer  else 
shall  be  payd  in  the  country  rate  to  be  according  to  money  price, 
provided  that  no  toune  or  person  shall  pay  leane  catle  in  the  coun- 
try rate,  &  that  there  be  one  rate  &  a  quarter  for  this  present  yeare. 

At  the  same  session  they  passed  this  order  for  cen- 
sorship of  the  press : 

For  presentation  of  irregularitjes  &  abuse  to  the  authority 
of  this  country  by  the  printing  presse,  it  is  ordered,  that  hence- 
forth no  copie  shall  be  printed  but  by  the  allowance  first  had  & 
obteined  vnder  the  hands  of  Capt  Daniel  Gookin  &  Mr  Jonathan 
Mitchel,  vntil  this  Court  shall  take  further  order  therein,  but 
May  27,  1663,  they  ordered  that  the  printing  presse  be  at  lib- 
erty as  formerly,  till  this  Court  shall  take  further  order,  &  the 
late  order  is  heereby  repealed. 

At  a  General  Court  held  October  20,  1663,  it  was 
enacted — 

That  no  masters  of  shipps  or  seamen,  having  theire  vessels  ride- 
ing  wthin  any  of  our  harbors  in  this  jurisdiction,  shall  presume  to 
drincke  healths,  or  suffer  any  healths  to  be  druncke  wthin  theire 
vessells  by  day  or  night,  or  to  shoote  of  any  gunne  after  the  day- 
light is  past,  or  on  the  Saboath  day,  on  poenalty  for  euery  health 
twenty  shillings,  &  for  euery  gunn  so  shott  twenty  shillings ;  & 
the  capt  of  the  Castle  is  hereby  enjoy ned  to  giue  notice  of  this 
order  to  all  shipps  that  passe  by  the  Castel. 

At  the  General  Court  held  in  the  Town  House  on 
the  18th  of  May,  1664,  Endicott  was  again  chosen 
governor,  and  Bellingham  deputy  governor.  The  first 
business  transacted  was  to  pass  an  order  against  sing- 
ing and  making  a  noise  in  any  place  of  public  enter- 
tainment. Then,  apparently  being  of  the  opinion  that 
the  physical  possession  of  the  patent  was  of  great  im- 
portance, and  fearing  that  it  might  be  taken  away  from 

them,  they  passed  this  order: 

[156] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Forasmuch  as  it  is  of  great  concernment  to  this  comonwealt 
to  keepe  safe  &  secret  our  pattent,  it  is  ordered,  the  patent,  & 
duplicate  belonging  to  the  country,  be  forth wth  brought  into  the 
Court,  &  that  there  be  two  or  3  persons  appointed  by  each  house 
to  keepe  safe  &  secret  the  sajd  patent  &  duplicate,  in  two  dis- 
tinct places,  as  to  the  sajd  comittees  shall  seeme  most  expedient. 
It  is  ordered,  that  the  Dept.  Gouno1",  Major  Genii  Leueret,  Capt 
Clarke,  &  Capt  Johnson  are  appointed  to  receive  the  grand  pat- 
ent from  the  secretary,  &  to  dispose  thereof  as  maybe  most  safe 
for  the  country. 

The  patent  was  then  brought  in  and  "delivered  to 
the  Dep*  Gounor,  Rich  Bellingham,  Esq.  &  the  rest  of 
the  comittee,  in  presenc  of  the  whole  Court." 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  curi- 
ous legal  proceedings  in  England  to  deprive  the  colo- 
nists of  the  Charter.  The  original  proceedings  for  the  for- 
feiture of  the  Charter  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II  were  by 
a  writ  of  quo  warranto  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench.  It 
was  this  proceeding  with  which  the  King  threatened  the 
Colony  in  his  letter  sent  by  Randolph  in  December, 
1680,  and  in  the  Royal  Declaration  sent  to  the  Colony 
by  Randolph  in  July,  1683,  wherein  he  requested  the 
colonists  to  surrender  their  Charter,  and  declared  that 
any  person  who  defended  the  quo  warranto  proceedings 
must  do  so  at  his  private  expense  and  not  at  any  pub- 
lic expense  of  the  Colony.  The  prosecution  of  this  com- 
mon law  proceeding  appears  to  have  been  abandoned, 
and  a  new  suit  begun  by  a  writ  of  scire  facias  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  April  16,  1684;  and  it  was  upon 
this  proceeding  before  the  chancellor  that  a  decree  was 
made  June  21,  1684,  and  confirmed  October  23, 1684, 
vacating  the  Charter,  upon  default  and  before  the  col- 

[  157  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

onists  had  any  legal  notice  and  opportunity  to  defend 
the  new  suit.  One  of  the  reasons  for  this  change  of 
procedure  may  have  been  that  in  the  common  law 
proceeding  originally  commenced,  the  only  judgment 
would  be  one  forfeiting  the  rights  given  by  the  Charter, 
while  in  a  suit  in  chancery  a  decree  might  be  made  not 
only  vacating  the  Charter,  but  requiring  the  patent  it- 
self to  be  brought  into  court  and  there  cancelled  by 
the  chancellor.  Lord  Coke  even  derives  the  title  of 
chancellor  from  his  power  to  cancel  the  King's  letters 
patents  under  the  great  seal,  and  "damning  the  enrol- 
ment thereof  by  drawing  strikes  through  it  like  a  let- 
tice."  This  probably  accounts  for  the  importance  which 
was  always  attached  by  the  colonists  to  the  physical 
preservation  and  possession  of  the  patent  itself. 

Then  having  guarded  the  possession  of  the  Charter, 
they  turned  again  to  the  suppression  of  free  speech  and 
censured  William  Cotton  for  "  reproachfull  expres- 
sions" against  the  governor,  disfranchised  him,  and 
disabled  him  to  bear  any  military  office,  and  ordered 
him  to  be  whipped  openly  not  exceeding  ten  stripes, 
or  otherwise  to  pay  a  fine  of  fifteen  pounds. 

And  thus  the  colonists,  through  their  General  Court 
sitting  in  the  Boston  Town  House,  continued  to  admin- 
ister their  government  without  substantial  change,  and 
with  very  little  regard  to  repeated  recommendations 
and  requirements  from  the  English  government.  At  last 
the  Crown  appointed  commissioners  to  go  to  New  Eng- 
land and  require  the  colonists  to  comply  with  its  de- 
mands. Information  of  this  fact  reached  Boston  at  the 
session  of  the  General  Court  in  May,  1664,  and  the 

[  158] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

General  Court  passed  the  following  order  with  refer- 
ence to  the  expected  visit: 

This  Court,  being  informed  that  some  of  his  majtys  shipps 
are  on  their  voyage  to  these  parts,  in  which  are  seuerall  gentle- 
men of  quality,  doe  therefore  order,  that  the  capt  of  the  Castle, 
on  the  first  sight  &  knowledge  of  their  approach,  giue  speedy 
notice  thereof  to  the  honnored  Gouernor  &  Deputy  Gouno1*,  and 
that  Capt  James  Oliuer  &  Capt  Willjam  Dauis  are  hereby  or- 
dered forthwith  to  repaire  on  board  sajd  ships,  and  to  acquaint 
those  gentn  that  this  Court  hath  &  doeth  by  them  present  their 
respects  to  them,  &  that  it  is  the  desier  of  the  authority  of  this 
place  that  they  take  strict  order  that  their  vnder  officers  &  soul- 
djers,in  their  coming  on  shoareto  refresh  themselves,  at  no  time  ex- 
ceed a  convenient  noumber,  &  that  wthout  armes,  &  that  they  behaue 
themselves  orderly  amongst  his  majtys  good  subjects  heere,  &  be 
carefull  of  giving  no  offence  to  the  people  &  lawes  of  this  place, 
and  invite  them  on  shoare,  provission  being  made  for  their  pre- 
sent refreshment  by  the  sajd  Capt  Oliuer,  and  the  management 
of  the  military  enterteinement  &  the  guard  is  left  to  be  ordered 
by  the  major  generall  &  militia  of  Boston,  wth  respect  to  their 
honnorble  reception. 

They  also  took  active  measures  to  put  themselves 
in  a  position  to  maintain  their  government.  On  the 
same  day  that  they  made  this  provision  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  commissioners,  they  gave  the  following  or- 
der to  Captain  Richard  Davenport: 

To  take  into  your  care  &  charge  the  Island  Castle,  &  battery 
therevpon,  comonly  called  Castle  Island,  wth  all  the  great  artil- 
lery, armes,  &  amunition  belonging  therevnto,  &  see  that  they  be 
in  a  posture  fitt  for  the  service  &  defence  of  this  jurisdiction  & 
the  authority  thereof:  yow  are  also  to  take  charge  of  the  garri- 
son there  as  capt  thereof,  and  that  such  officers  and  souldjers  as 
from  tjme  to  time  shall  be  sent  unto  yow  for  yor  asi stance  be  dil- 
ligent  in  attending  the  dutjes  of  their  places,  comanding  them 
to  obey  yow  as  your  captaine  for  the  seruice  aforesajd;  and  in  case 

[159] 


The  Story  of  the 

any  shall  attempt  assault  upon  yow,  or  the  place  comitted  to  your 
trust,  or,  in  passing  by  the  Castle  in  ship,  barcque,  or  boate,  shall 
refuse  to  be  vnder  comand,  according  to  ye  duty  of  your  place, 
and  for  the  better  strengthening  therevnto,  yow  are,  vpon  the 
approach  of  any  vpon  the  coast  or  towards  any  the  harbors  wthin 
the  bay,  wth  shipping,  to  giue  timely  notice  by  the  vsuall  signe 
of  flag  or  flaggs,  or  such  other  signall  as  yow  shall  be  appointed 
by  your  superiors ;  and  in  case  there  be  approach  of  aboue  three 
shipps  together,  yow  are  to  give  timely  alarum,  as  the  lawe  pro- 
videth.  Yow  are  to  observe  &  obey  all  such  orders  and  directions 
as  from  time  to  tjme  yow  shall  receive  from  the  Generall  Court, 
councill,  major  generall,  or  comittee  of  militia.  Vntill  the  Court 
of  Election  next,  this  comission  to  be  of  force.  Given  vnder  our 
hands  at  Boston,  in  New  England,  wth  the  seale  of  the  collony 
affixed,  this  9th  March,  166f. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  commissioners  they  met  the 
governor  and  the  assistants  in  the  Town  House  on 
July  26, 1664,  and  the  governor  called  a  special  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Court  to  be  held  on  August  3, 
1664,  to  consider  the  demands  of  the  commissioners. 
At  this  court  the  commissioners  presented  their  com- 
mission and  a  letter  from  the  King  requiring,  among 
other  things,  a  repeal  of  the  law  prohibiting  persons 
who  were  not  members  of  Puritan  churches  from  be- 
ing admitted  as  freemen  of  the  Colony.  All  the  Gen- 
eral Court  did  to  comply  with  this  requirement  was 
to  pass  a  law  with  this  provision : 

All  Englishmen  presenting  a  cirtifficat,  vnder  the  hands  of  the 
ministers  or  minister  of  the  place  where  they  dwell,  that  they 
are  orthodox  in  religion,  &  not  vitious  in  theire  Hues,  &  also  a 
certifficat,  vnder  the  hands  of  the  selectmen  of  the  place,  or  of  the 
major  part  of  them,  that  they  are  free  holders,  &  are  for  their 
oune  propper  estate  (wthout  heads  of  psons)  rateable  to  the 
country  in  a  single  country  rate,  after  the  vsuall  manner  of  val- 

[160] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

luation,  in  the  place  where  they  liue,  to  the  full  value  of  tenne 
shillings,  or  that  they  are  in  full  comunion  wth  some  church 
amongst  vs,  it  shallbe  in  the  liberty  of  all  &  euery  such  person  or 
persons,  being  twenty  fower  yeares  of  age,  householders  and  setled 
inhabitants  in  this  jurisdiccon,  from  tjme  to  tjme,  to  present 
themselves  &  their  desires  to  this  Court  for  their  admittance  to 
the  freedome  of  this  comonwealth,  and  shallbe  allowed  the  priii- 
ledge  to  haue  such  their  desire  propounded  &  put  to  vote  in  the 
Generall  Court  for  acceptance  to  the  freedome  of  the  body  polli- 
ticke  by  the  sufferage  of  the  major  pte,  according  to  the  rules  of 
our  pattent. 

The  Court  then  ordered  that  a  petition  be  pre- 
sented to  His  Majesty  at  a  convenient  time  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  their  patent  privileges,  and  resolved  that 
"  This  Court  doeth  expresse  &:  declare,  that  it  is  their 
resolution,  God  asisting,  to  beare  faith  &  true  allea- 
giance  to  his  majestje,  to  adhere  to  their  pattent,  (the 
duties  &  priuledges  thereof,)  so  dearely  obteyned  &  so 
long  enjoyed  by  vndoubted  right  in  the  sight  of  God 
&  men."  This  was  only  saying  that  they  would  bear 
allegiance  to  the  King  so  long  as  he  allowed  them  to 
govern  themselves  in  their  own  way  under  the  patent. 
But  they  were  extremely  anxious  to  preserve  the  fa- 
vour of  the  King,  if  it  could  be  done  by  declarations  of 
loyalty  wdthout  actual  submission  to  his  authority,  and 
October  19,  1664,  a  General  Court,  called  by  the  gov- 
ernor, deputy  governor,  and  other  magistrates,  was 
held,  in  which  a  long  address  to  the  King  was  voted 
signed  by  Governor  Endicott  by  its  order.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  it  was  this  language : 

Royall  SR :  It  is  in  your  power  to  say  of  your  poore  people  in 
New  England,  thev  shall  not  dve.  If  wee  haue  found  favour  in 
the  sight  of  our  king,  let  our  life  be  given  vs  at  our  petition, 

[161  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

(or  rather  that  which  is  dearer  than  life,  that  wee  haue  ventured 
our  Hues,  &  willingly  passed  through  many  deaths  to  obteyne 
&  our  all;)  at  our  request  let  our  gouernment  Hue,  our  patent 
liue,  our  magistrates  liue,  our  lawes  &  libertjes  Hue,  our  reli- 
gious enjoyments  liue;  so  shall  wee  all  haue  yet  further  cause  to 
say  from  our  heart,  "Let  the  king  liue  foreuer;"  and  the  blessing 
of  them  that  were  ready  to  perish  shall  come  vpon  your  majesty, 
hauing  deliuered  the  poore  that  cryed,  &  such  as  had  none  to 
help  them. 

But  they  did  not  abate  the  vigour  of  their  authority 
or  the  cruelty  of  their  punishments,  and  at  the  same 
session  they  ordered  that  a  woman  who  had  been  tried 
for  burning  a  house,  and  found  not  guilty,  but  found 
guilty  of  theft,  "be  whipt  wth  tenn  stripes,  tomorrow, 
after  the  lecture,  vpon  hir  naked  body  in  Boston."  And 
as  she  had  "also  binn  convicted  of  many  notorious 
lyes,"  it  was  adjudged  that  she  be  "whipt  againe  at 
Ipswich,  vpon  hir  naked  body,  as  before,  wth  tenn 
stripes,  at  the  end  of  one  moneth  from  the  time  of  hir 
first  whipping." 

The  royal  commissioners,  finding  that  they  made  no 
impression  upon  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  visited  the 
colonies  of  Connecticut,  Plymouth,  and  Rhode  Island, 
all  of  which  submitted  to  the  royal  demands.  The  com- 
missioners returned  to  Boston,  and  met  the  General 
Court  in  the  Town  House,  in  May,  1665.  At  this  time 
the  commissioners  demanded  among  other  things  that 
the  thirtieth  day  of  January,  the  day  of  the  execution 
of  Charles  I,  should  be  made  a  day  of  prayer  and  fast- 
ing, according  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  April,  1660, 
which  provided  that  every  thirtieth  day  of  January, 
unless  it  was  upon  the  Lord's  Day,  and  then  the  next 

[  162  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

day  following,  should  be  "forever  set  apart  to  be  kept 
in  all  the  churches  and  chapels  of  the  Dominion  of 
England  as  an  anniversary  day  of  Fasting  and  Humil- 
iation to  implore  the  mercy  of  God  that  neither  the 
guilte  of  that  Sacred  and  Innocent  Blood,  or  those 
other  sinns  by  which  God  was  provoked  to  deliver  up 
both  us  and  our  King  into  the  hands  of  cruell  and  un- 
reasonable men,  may  at  any  time  hereafter  be  visited 
upon  us  or  our  posterity." 

To  this  the  General  Court  stoutly  replied  that  in  the 
Colony  each  church  had  liberty  to  appoint  its  own  days 
of  prayer  and  fasting,  and  refused  to  accede  to  the  de- 
mand. Finally  on  May  24, 1665,  the  commissioners  an- 
nounced that  they  intended  to  sit  in  Boston  as  a  Court 
of  Appeals  from  the  General  Court,  as  their  authority 
from  the  King  authorized  them  to  do.  In  answer  to 
this  the  colonists  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet 
from  the  Town  House  "that  the  generall  court  was 
the  supreamest  judicatory  in  all  that  province  and  that 
the  Commissioners  pretending  to  hear  appeals  was  a 
breach  of  their  priviledges." 

Thus  in  the  Boston  Town  House  the  long  con- 
test between  the  Colony  and  the  Crown  began.  The 
American  Revolution  really  had  its  beginning  when  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  alone  of  all  the  colonies  in  New 
England,  firmly  faced  the  commissioners  of  Charles  II 
and  bravely  stood  for  the  right  to  govern  themselves 
under  their  Charter.  It  was  then  and  there,  in  the  Bos- 
ton Town  House,  that  the  spirit  of  independence  was 
born  which  a  century  later  flashed  into  the  flames  of 
the  Revolution. 

[163] 


The  Story  of  the 

After  this  the  commissioners,  finding  themselves 
without  power  and  wholly  unable  to  exercise  royal  au- 
thority in  Boston,  departed  out  of  the  Colony,  and  re- 
ported to  the  King  that  they  visited  the  colonies  of 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  Plymouth,  and  found 
them  submissive  to  the  commissioners ;  but  they  said, 

The  collony  of  the  Massachusetts  was  the  last  and  hardliest  per- 

swaded  to  use  his  Majestyes  name  in  the  forms  of  justice The 

commissioners  visitted  all  other  collonyes  before  this,  hoping  both 
that  the  submission  and  condescention  of  the  other  collonyes  to 
his  Majestyes  desires  would  have  abated  the  refractorinesse  of  this 
collony. . . .  But  neither  examples  nor  reasons  could  prevaile  with 
them  to  let  the  commissioners  hear  and  determine  soe  much  as 
those  patricular  cases  which  the  King  had  commanded  them  to 
take  care  of  and  doe  justice  in,  and  they  proclaimed  by  sound  of 
trumpet  that  the  generall  court  was  the  supreamest  judicatory  in 
all  that  province. 

Then  the  General  Court,  having  thus  disposed  of  the 
royal  commissioners,  turned  to  domestic  affairs  and 
suppressed  freedom  of  the  press  by  this  order : 

For  the  preventing  of  irregularitjes  &  abuse  to  the  authority 
of  this  country  by  the  printing  presse,  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court 
&  the  authority  thereof,  that  there  shall  be  no  printing  presse 
allowed  in  any  toune  wthin  this  jurisdiction  but  in  Cambridge, 
nor  shall  any  person  or  persons  presume  to  print  any  copie  but 
by  the  allowance  first  had  &  obteyned  vnder  the  hands  of  such 
as  this  Court  shall  from  tjme  to  tjme  impower;  the  president  of 
the  colledge,  Mr  John  Shearman,  Mr  Jonathan  Michell,  &  Mr  Tho- 
mas Shepheard,  or  any  two  of  them,  to  survey  such  copie  or  coppies, 
and  to  prohibitt  or  allow  the  same  according  to  this  order;  and 
in  case  of  non  observance  of  this  order,  to  forfeit  the  presse  to 
the  country,  &  be  disabled  from  vsing  any  such  proffession  wthin 
this  jurisdiction  for  the  tjme  to  come;  provided,  this  order  shall 
not  extend  to  the  obstruction  of  any  coppie  which  this  Court 
shall  judge  meete  to  order  to  be  published  in  print. 

[  164  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

A  letter  from  the  King,  dated  February  22,  1666, 
directed  to  the  governor  and  Council  with  reference 
to  hostilities  with  France,  was  received  July  17, 1666, 
and  His  Majesty's  declaration  of  war,  which  was  en- 
closed in  the  letter,  was  solemnly  published  from  the 
Town  House  by  sound  of  trumpet.  A  reply  in  the 
name  and  by  the  order  of  the  General  Court  was  made 
to  this  letter,  and  September  11,  1666,  the  General 
Court  procured  and  sent  to  the  King  by  special  ship 
a  present  of  two  masts. 

In  May,  1669,  there  went  out  from  the  Town  House 
a  further  order  of  the  General  Court  suppressing  a  free 
press  as  follows: 

Being  informed  that  there  is  now  in  the  presse,  reprinting,  a 
booke,  tit  Imitacons  of  Christ,  or  to  y*  purpose,  written  by  Thomas 
a  Kempis,  a  Popish  minister,  wherein  is  conteyned  some  things 
that  are  less  safe  to  be  infused  among  the  people  of  this  place, 
we  doe  comend  to  the  licensers  of  the  press,  the  more  full  revisall 
thereof,  &  that  in  the  meane  tjme  there  be  no  further  proggresse 
in  that  worke. 

In  May,  1670,  an  addition  to  the  law  against  gaming 
was  passed  providing — 

That  what  person  or  persons  soeuer  shall  bring  into  this  ju- 
risdiction any  playing  cards  or  dice,  or  wth  whomsoeuer  such  cards 
or  dice  be  found  in  his  or  their  custody,  he  or  they  shall  pay,  as 
a  fine,  the  sum  of  five  pounds,  the  one  halfe  to  the  treasury,  the 
other  to  the  informer;  but  in  case  any  such  cards  or  dice  shall 
come  into  the  custody  of  any  person  wthout  his  knowledge  or  con- 
sent, if  he  shall  carry  them  vnto  the  next  magistrate  or  comis- 
sioner,  within  two  dajes  after  his  knowledge  of  them  to  dispose 
of  them  as  the  said  magistrate  or  comissioner  shall  see  cause,  any 
such  person  shall  be  free  from  the  poenaltje. 

And  then  to  induce  offenders  to  betray  their  com- 

[165] 


The  Story  of  the 

panions,  the  law  provided  that  "if  any  person  that  hath 
plajed  or  gamed,  shall  give  information  thereof,  he  shall 
be  freed  from  the  poenaltje  of  the  law." 

The  General  Court  then  dealt  with  the  deceased 
wife's  sister  question  by  this  resolve:  "In  ansr  to  the 
quaestion,  whither  it  be  lawfull  for  a  man  that  hath 
buried  his  first  wife  to  marry  wth  hir  that  was  his  first 
wiues  natturall  sister,  the  Court  resolves  it  on  the  ne- 
gative." 

In  June,  1670,  the  Colony  united  with  Plymouth 
and  Connecticut  as  the  United  Colonies  for  mutual 
defence  and  assistance.  The  articles  of  this  confedera- 
tion were  agreed  upon  in  the  Boston  Town  House. 
On  May  15, 1672,  the  General  Court  passed  the  famous 
order  as  to  ducking  for  scolding  as  follows : 

Whereas  there  is  no  express  punishment  (by  any  lawe  hith- 
erto established)  affixed  to  the  evill  practise  of  sundry  persons 
by  exhorbitancy  of  the  tongue  in  rayling  &  scolding,  it  is  there- 
fore ordered,  that  all  such  persons  convicted,  before  any  Court 
or  magistrate  that  hath  propper  cognizance  of  the  case,  for  rayl- 
ing or  scolding,  shall  be  gagged  or  sett  in  a  ducking  stoole  & 
dipt  ouer  head  &  eares  three  times,  in  some  convenient  place 
of  fresh  or  salt  water,  as  the  Court  or  magistrate  shall  judge 
meete. 

In  October,  1675,  the  Colony  promulgated  "Lawes 
and  ordinances  of  warr,  for  the  better  regulating  their 
forces,  and  keeping  theire  souldjers  to  theire  duty,  &  to 
prevent  prophaness,  that  iniquity  may  be  kept  out  of 
the  campe,"  the  first  one  of  which  was:  "Let  no  man 
presume  to  blaspheme  the  holy  &  blessed  Trinity,  God 
the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 
vpon  payne  to  haue  his  tongue  bored  wth  a  hott  iron." 

[  166] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

In  1676  the  General  Court  authorized  the  selectmen 
of  the  different  towns — 

To  impresse  men  for  the  mannagement  and  carrying  on  of  the 
husbandry  of  such  persons  as  are  called  of  from  the  same  into 
the  service,  who  have  not  sufficjent  help  of  their  oune  left  at 
home  to  mannage  the  same,  who  shall  be  allowed  eighteen  pence 
a  day  for  their  sajd  work,  to  be  pajd  by  the  respective  persons 
for  whom  they  worke,  prouided  it  doe  not  appeare  that  any  per- 
sons imployed  haue  been  vnfaithfull  in  theire  labour,  in  wch  case 
the  selectmen  shall  haue  power  to  deduct  from  their  wages  such 
proportion  as  they  shall  see  meete. 

In  May,  1677,  they  passed  additional  laws  with  refer- 
ence to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  one  of  which 
provided  that  — 

For  the  better  putting  a  restraint  &  securing  ofFendors  that 
shall  any  way  transgress  against  the  lawes,  title  Saboath,  either 
in  the  meeting  house  by  abusiue  carriage  or  misbehaviour,  by 
making  any  noyse  or  otherwise,  or  during  the  daytime,  being 
laid  hold  on  by  any  of  the  inhabitants,  shall,  by  the  said  person 
appointed  to  inspect  this  law,  be  forthwith  carried  forth  &  put 
into  a  cage  in  Boston,  which  is  appointed  to  be  forthwith,  by  the 
select  men,  to  be  set  up  in  the  market  place,  and  in  such  other 
townes  as  ye  County  Courts  shall  appoint,  there  to  remain  till 
authority  shall  examine  the  person  offending,  &  giue  order  for 
his  punishment,  as  the  matter  may  require,  according  to  the 
lawes  relating  to  the  Saboath. 

In  October,  1678,  the  whole  Court  met  together  in 
the  Town  House,  and  a  letter  was  read  from  the  King, 
with  a  copy  of  an  oath  of  allegiance  which  it  was  de- 
sired they  should  take  to  His  Majesty's  person  and 
government.  This  was  the  oath  containing  the  famous 
declaration  against  the  power  of  the  Pope.  The  oath 
would  occupy  nearly  two  pages  of  this  book  and  reads 
strangely  in  Boston  to-day.  Those  who  are  curious  to 

[  167  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

read  it  and  see  to  what  extent  the  Puritans  in  their 
abhorrence  of  the  Roman  Church  were  glad  to  go  at 
that  time,  will  find  it  printed  in  the  "Colony  Records" 
(vol.  v.  pp.  192,  193).  The  members  of  the  Court  then 
present  took  the  oath,  ordered  it  to  be  printed,  and 
required  it  to  be  taken  by  all  persons  within  the  Col- 
ony "of  sixteene  yeares  of  age  and  vpwards,"  under 
pain  of  fine  and  imprisonment. 

They  then  passed  an  act  punishing  with  death  any 
attempt  to  depose  the  King  or  preaching  or  advising 
against  his  person  and  rule,  and  prepared  an  address  to 
the  King  setting  forth  their  action  and  expressing  their 
loyalty  to  him,  saying  at  the  close :  "  Wee  prostrate  at 
yor  majesties  ffeet,  and  humbly  begg  the  acceptance 
of  the  loyall  hearts Your  majtyes  most  humble  sub- 
jects &  suplicants."  And  so  the  colonists  continued  to 
administer  their  government  from  the  Boston  Town 
House  with  many  protestations  of  loyalty  to  the  King, 
but  with  very  little  real  obedience  to  his  commands  in 
any  substantial  matters. 

In  the  meantime  the  English  government  was  con- 
tinually pressing  for  the  surrender  of  the  Charter  of  the 
Colony,  and  the  colonists  became  exceedingly  appre- 
hensive lest  it  might  be  taken  from  them,  and  in  1679 
the  General  Court  passed  another  order  as  to  the  cus- 
tody of  the  instrument  in  addition  to  the  one  passed 
in  1664,  as  follows: 

The  securing  of  our  originall  pattent  being  matter  of  great 
importance,  and  the  former  prouission  in  that  respect  made  in  the 
yeare  1664  being  at  an  end  by  the  decease  of  most  of  the  per- 
sons betrusted  in  that  order,  this  Court  doth  therefore  order  that 

[  168] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

the  patent  be  forth wth  sent  for  &  comitted  to  our  present  honord 
Deputy  Gouernor,  Capt  John  Richards,  &  Capt  Daniel  Fisher, 
with  Major  Thomas  Clarke,  one  of  the  last  comittee  who  are  to 
take  care  of  the  same,  to  whose  wisdome  wee  refferr  it,  to  dispose 
of  it  as  may  best  tend  to  prevent  any  inconvenience  relating 
therevnto. 

In  October,  1681,  the  freedom  of  the  printing-press 
was  again  regulated  by  giving  a  monopoly  of  it  to 
Samuel  Sewall,  who  was  authorized  to  take  the  man- 
agement of  the  printing-press  in  Boston,  and  it  was 
provided  that  "none  may  presume  to  sett  vp  any  other 
presse  wthout  the  like  liberty  first  granted." 

The  colonists  resisted  all  attempts  of  the  English 
government  to  establish  customs  regulations  in  Boston. 
When  Edward  Randolph  came  to  Boston  in  1681  with 
a  commission  from  the  Crown  as  collector  of  customs 
in  New  England,  he  laid  it  before  the  General  Court 
in  the  Town  House  that  they  might  assist  him  in  the 
execution  of  his  office,  but  they  took  no  notice  of  it,  and 
when  he  "set  up  an  advertisement  near  the  town  house 
to  acquaint  all  persons  that  a  customs  office  was  erected 
&c,"  it  was  taken  down  by  the  marshal  by  order  of  the 
General  Court. 

At  the  opening  of  a  Court  called  by  the  governor 
and  assistants  to  sit  at  the  Town  House  in  Boston, 
January  28, 1684,  Governor  Bradstreet  declared  that 
there  were  certain  or  general  rumours  by  a  person 
lately  arrived  that  the  Charter  was  condemned  and 
judgment  entered  up  against  the  Colony  upon  proceed- 
ings pending  in  the  English  courts.  Thereupon  the 
General  Court  passed  a  law  modifying  the  building  law 

in  Boston,  and  appointed  the  12th  of  March  next  as 

[169] 


The  Story  of  the 

a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer.  They  then  prepared 
an  address  to  the  King  praying  for  the  continuance  of 
their  liberties  and  privileges  under  their  Charter,  autho- 
rized certain  persons  to  solemnize  marriages,  and  di- 
rected a  communication  to  be  sent  to  their  counsel  in 
England  by  the  hand  of  their  secretary. 

In  1685  Charles  II  died,  and  James  II  was  pro- 
claimed King.  Copies  of  the  proclamation  made  in 
London  on  February  6, 1685,  were  transmitted  to  the 
governor  and  magistrates  of  Boston,  who  communi- 
cated them  to  the  whole  General  Court.  The  governor 
and  council  then  ordered  the  proclamation  to  be  made 
in  Boston.  The  quaint  record  of  what  was  done  shows 
it  was  ordered  that — 

His  majty  wth  all  due  solemnity  be  proclajmed  in  the  high  street 
in  Boston,  wch  was  donn  on  20th  of  Aprill,  the  honorble  Gounor, 
Dep*  Gounor,  &  Assistants,  on  horsback,  wth  thousands  of  people, 
a  troope  of  horse,  eight  foote  companys,  drums  beating,  trum- 
pets sounding,  his  majty  was  proclaymed  by  Edward  Rawson, 
secret,  on  horsback,  &  Jn°  Greene,  marshall  generll,  taking  it 
from  him,  to  the  great  joy  &  loud  aclamations  of  the  people,  and 
a  seuenty  peec  of  ordinanc  next  after  the  volleys  of  horse  &  foote. 

God  saue  the  King,  &c. 

Sewall  also  notes  as  to  this:  "Monday,  April  20th, 
(1685).  The  King  is  Proclaimed;  8  Companies,  the 
Troop,  and  several  Gentlemen  on  horseback  assisting ; 
three  Volleys  and  then  Canon  fired."  Then  he  calmly 
notes:  "This  day  a  child  falls  upon  a  Knife  which 
runs  through  its  cheek  to  the  Throat,  of  which  inward 
Wound  it  dies,  and  is  buried  on  Wednesday."  April 
26  (1685)  he  notes:  "I  go  to  Meeting;  staid  at  home 
last  Sabbath  and  April  20th  by  reason  of  my  Sore 

[170  ] 


G 


)amucl   q)clc all 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Throat."  Evidently  the  pious  Puritan  judge  took  little 
interest  in  the  proclamation  of  the  accession  of  King 
James  because  he  was  a  Catholic. 

February  16,  1685,  the  General  Court  passed  the 
first  law  with  regard  to  trials  by  jury  in  cases  of  con- 
tests as  to  wills,  which  was  published  on  the  25th  of 
February.  Sewall  notes  this  as  follows : 

Thorsday,  February  25,  The  Law  about  Wills  and  Adminis- 
trations is  published ;  and  almost  as  soon  as  the  Drumm  had  done 
beating,  Mr.  Serj*  comes  with  his  Petition ;  and  an  order  is  made 
for  a  Hearing  next  Monday,  3  weeks,  the  22d  of  March:  some 
would  have  had  it  sooner,  and  Mr.  Nowel  and  Self  thought  it 
very  indecent  that  it  was  so  soon,  especially  considering,  the  Or- 
der made  upon  a  Law  scarce  yet  out  of  the  Marshal's  Mouth. 

On  July  25, 1685,  the  General  Court  prepared  an  ad- 
dress to  James  II,  stating  that  they  had  received  with 
sorrow  the  sad  tidings  of  the  death  of  "our  late  gra- 
cious soueraigne,  Charles  the  Seecond,  of  famous  me- 
mory, whose  transcendent  grace  &  princely  favour  to  us 
hath  been  as  the  dew  vpon  the  grasse,  and  vnder  the 
shaddow  of  whose  protection,  thro  the  mercy  of  God, 
wee  haue  enjoyed  many  happy  dayes,"  and  prayed  the 
continuance  of  their  liberties  according  to  their  Char- 
ter, which  they  said  "will  add  another  Jewell  to  your 
imperiall  diadem,  and  errect  a  lasting  monument  of 
aeternall  fame  in  the  hearts  of  this  &  succeeding 
generations,  &  foreuer  obleige  Your  maj^es  loyall  & 
obedjent  subjects." 


[  1^1  ] 


Use  of  the  Town  House  by  the 
Provincial  Government:  1686-1689 

MAY  15, 1686,  Joseph  Dudley,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed president  of  "  Massachusetts,  Maine, 
Nova  Scotia  and  the  lands  between,"  arrived  in  Bos- 
ton, bringing  his  commission,  and  also  a  commission  to 
"divers  gentlemen"  to  administer  the  government;  and 
on  May  17,  1686,  the  judgment  vacating  the  Colony 
Charter,  and  the  royal  commission  of  Dudley  as  pre- 
sident of  the  Province,  were  read  in  open  court  in  the 
Town  House  "in  the  presence  of  divers  of  the  eminent 
ministers,  gentlemen  and  inhabitants  of  the  town  and 
country,"  and  the  president  took  the  oath  of  office  and 
made  a  speech.  The  royal  proclamation  setting  forth 
the  commission  was  then  "published  by  beat  of  drum 
and  sound  of  trumpet"  from  the  east  end  of  the  Town 
House,  and  the  chartered  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
became  a  part  of  a  royal  province.  The  inhabitants  of 
Boston,  who  had  given  of  their  scanty  substance  to 
build  a  Town  House  for  a  Puritan  town  and  a  char- 
tered colony,  thus  saw  it  changed  from  its  use  as  the 
seat  of  a  representative  government  into  a  "Council 
House"  for  a  royal  governor.  Sewall,  who  was  present 
as  one  of  the  assistants,  notes  the  occasion  as  follows : 

May  17th,  1686,  Generall  Court  Sits  at  One  aclock,  I  goe  thither, 
about  3.  The  Old  Government  draws  to  the  North- side,  Mr.  Ad- 
dington,  Capt.  Smith  and  I  sit  at  the  Table,  there  not  being  room : 
Major  Dudley,  the  Praesident,  Major  Pynchon  Capt.  Gedney,Mr. 
Mason,  Randolph,  Capt.  Winthrop,  Mr.  Wharton  come  in  on  the 

left The  Room  pretty  well  filled  with  Spectators  in  an  Instant. 

Major  Dudley  made  a  Speech,  that  was  sorry  could  treat  them 

[  173  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

no  longer  as  Governour  and  Company;  Produced  the  Exemplifi- 
cation of  the  Charter^  Condemnation,  the  Commission  under  the 
Broad-Seal  of  England — both :  Letter  of  the  Lords,  Commission 
of  Admiralty,  openly  exhibiting  them  to  the  People ;  when  had 
done,  Deputy  Governour  said  suppos'd  they  expected  not  the 
Court's  Answer  now;  which  the  Praesident  took  up  and  said  they 
could  not  acknowledge  them  as  such,  and  could  no  way  capitu- 
late with  them,  to  which  I  think  no  Reply.  When  gone,  Major 
Generall,  Major  Richards,  Mr.  Russell  and  Self  spake  our  minds. . . . 
Spake  to  call  some  Elders  to  pray  tomorrow  which  some  think 
inconvenient,  because  of  what  past,  and  the  Commissioners  hav- 
ing several  times  declared  themselves  to  be  the  King's  Council 
when  in  the  Town-House. 

President  Dudley  and  his  Council  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, June  3,  1686,  giving  reasons  for  publishing  his 
speech  made  "to  the  late  General  Assembly  in  the 
Council  House  in  Boston,  May  17,  1686,"  in  which  he 
denied  their  authority  to  sit  or  act  further. 

The  General  Court,  however,  met  again  on  May  20, 
1686,  and  passed  an  order  with  regard  to  papers  refer- 
ring to  their  Charter  and  Indian  titles,  as  follows: 

Ordered  by  this  Court,  that  Samuel  Nowell,  Esq,  Mr  Jn°  Saffin, 
&  Capt  Timothy  Prout  be  a  comittee  for  a  repossitory  of  such  pa- 
pers on  file  with  the  secretary  as  referr  to  our  charter,  &  nego- 
tiations, from  time  to  tjme,  for  the  security  thereof,  with  such  as 
referr  to  our  title  of  our  land,  by  purchase  of  Indeans  or  other- 
wise ;  and  the  secretary  is  ordered  accordingly  to  deliuer  the  same 
vnto  them. 

The  Court  then  adjourned  to  the  following  October, 
at  which  time  as  the  Charter  under  which  they  were 
constituted  and  elected  had  been  adjudged  forfeited, 
and  a  new  government  established,  they  could  not  act, 
and  therefore  did  not  attempt  to  meet. 

It  may  be  asked  why  the  colonists,  who  had  forcibly 

[  H4] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

resisted  the  royal  commissioners  in  1664  in  the  Bos- 
ton Town  House,  quietly  submitted  to  the  royal  gov- 
ernor and  Council  in  1686.  The  answer  is  obvious.  Eng- 
land had  then  made  peace  with  its  enemies,  which  was 
not  the  case  in  1664.  Charles,  before  his  death  in  1685, 
had  by  the  secret  subsidy  of  France  become  able,  as  he 
thought,  to  rule  without  a  Parliament  to  vote  supplies, 
and  had  prorogued  Parliament.  James  had  succeeded  to 
this  condition,  and  was  then  thought  to  be  able  to  crush 
any  resistance  by  the  colonists  by  force  of  arms;  and 
in  addition  to  this  the  colonists  were  then  exhausted 
by  their  long  struggle  in  the  Indian  wars  for  the  pro- 
tection of  their  homes.  The  leaders  of  the  colonists  in 
Boston  were  prudent  men,  and  therefore,  while  they 
protested  that  the  revocation  of  their  Charter  was  il- 
legal, and  that  the  new  government  deprived  them  of 
their  rights  as  Englishmen  under  Magna  Charta,  they 
reluctantly  but  peaceably  submitted  to  the  royal  power, 
and  waited  for  a  more  favourable  time  to  renew  their 
struggle  for  representative  government. 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  revocation  of  the  Charter 
threatened  to  be  most  disastrous  to  the  colonists.  Under 
the  theory  of  the  English  law  at  that  time  the  land 
which  had  been  granted  to  the  Colony  by  the  King  be- 
longed to  the  Crown,  and  the  title  of  the  colonists  was 
simply  that  of  a  conditional  grant  from  the  Crown. 
When,  therefore,  this  grant  of  the  Charter  was  revoked 
by  judicial  proceedings  for  violation  of  its  conditions, 
all  rights  which  had  been  acquired  under  it  were  de- 
stroyed. Not  only  were  all  the  laws  which  the  Colony 
had  made,  all  the  towns  and  other  corporations  which 

[  175  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

it  had  created,  vacated,  but  the  title  of  the  Colony  and 
of  the  towns  and  of  their  grantees  to  all  lands  within 
the  limit  of  the  Charter  was  destroyed,  and  the  people 
ceased  to  own  the  lands  they  had  wrested  from  the  wil- 
derness and  the  homes  in  which  they  lived.  It  was  also 
the  theory  of  the  English  law  that  the  Colony  was  a 
part  of  the  "Empire  of  the  King  of  England,"  which 
could  not  be  governed  by  Parliament,  but  was  simply 
the  property  of  the  Crown,  and  therefore  could  be  gov- 
erned without  any  regard  to  the  principles  of  Magna 
Charta  and  solely  according  to  the  will  of  the  sovereign 
for  the  time  being. 

It  was  upon  this  theory  that  the  new  government, 
of  which  Dudley  was  the  first  head,  under  the  title  of 
"President,"  was  established.  All  powers  of  the  govern- 
ment were  vested  in  the  president,  or  governor,  and  a 
council  appointed  by  the  King,  subject  to  removal  by 
the  governor,  but  all  vacancies  to  be  filled  by  the  King. 

The  governor  brought  for  the  use  of  his  government 
a  new  seal  and  a  new  flag,  and  was,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Council,  to  make  laws  in  conformity  to  the  laws 
of  England,  but  subject  to  the  royal  sanction,  and  was 
especially  required  to  "countenance  and  encourage" 
the  Church  of  England.  It  was  impossible  for  Dudley — 
who,  although  an  able  man  and  anxious  to  execute  his 
authority  as  a  royal  governor,  was  really  one  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony  people — to  govern  satisfactorily  to 
the  people  or  to  the  King  under  these  conditions,  and 
his  rule  was  short,  lasting  only  from  May  to  December, 
1686,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros. 

When  it  became  known  that  Andros  was  to  succeed 

[  176  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Dudley  the  colonists  evidently  expected  a  change  for 
the  worse.  His  title  was  to  be  "  Go vernor-in- Chief  "  in- 
stead of  "  President,"  but  that  concession  was  not  suf- 
ficient to  conciliate  the  sentiment  which  still  demanded 
a  return  of  the  Charter.  Preparations  were  made  for 
Andros's  reception  which  were  a  careful  combination 
of  caution  and  dignity. 

The  Council,  expecting  Andros  to  arrive  some  time 
in  November,  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  him, 
and  passed  the  following  order  as  to  his  reception : 

That  the  Gunners  of  Boston  and  Charlestowne  put  out  his 
Majtys  Colours  on  the  Forts  and  Sconces,  and  have  their  Gunns 
ready  according  to  method,  and  that  they  prepare  the  second  fire- 
ing  according  to  the  signe  to  be  given  them  from  the  Towne 
House  That  the  Major  and  his  Regiment  be  in  armes  at  the 
water  side  to  receive  the  Governor.  That  the  Captn.  of  the  Castle 
have  his  Company  ready  in  armes  at  a  Quarter  of  an  houres  warn- 
ing, and  be  personally  present  at  the  Castle  to  meet  &  salute  the 
Governour  in  passing  up  to  Towne. 

Orders  were  also  given  for  hoisting  the  King's  col- 
ours, for  receiving  the  governor  with  military  honours, 
and  "that  a  Pipe  of  Wine  be  put  in  some  convenient 
place  nere  the  Towne  House  to  be  bestowed  amongst 
the  Souldiers  that  shall  arrive  with  Sr  Edmund  An- 
dros." 

Andros  did  not,  in  fact,  arrive  until  December,  and 
Sewall  gives  the  following  dry  but  characteristic  ac- 
count of  the  occasion : 

Sabbath,  Dec1".  19, 1686.  Day  of  the  Fort-fight.  As  I  was  read- 
ing the  Exposition  of  Habakkuk  3d.,  which  this  morn  sung  and 
read  in  the  family,  I  heard  a  great  Gun  or  two,  as  I  supposed, 
which  made  me  think  Sir  Edmund  might  be  come;  but  none  of 
the  family  speaking  of  it,  I  held  my  peace.  Going  to  Mr.  Brad- 

[  177  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

street's  Tho.  Baker  told  me  Sir  Edmund  was  below,  which  Winch- 
comb  and  Brisco  confirmed;  said  they  saw  the  Frigot  with  the 
Flagg  in  the  main  Top,  and  sundry  gon  down.  President  and 
Deputy  come  to  Town ;  President  comes  and  hears  Mr.  Willard, 
whoes  Text  was  Heb.  11.  12.  Therefore  sprang  there  of  one  &c. 
113.  Psalm  sung.  Mr.  Willard  said  he  was  fully  persuaded  and 
confident  God  would  not  forget  the  Faith  of  those  who  came  first 
to  New  England,  but  would  remember  their  Posterity  with  kind- 
ness. One  Doct.  Faith  usually  reaps  the  greatest  Crops  off  the 
barrenest  Ground.  Between  Sermons,  the  President  and  several 
of  the  Council  goe  down.  Mr.  Lee  preaches  with  us  in  the  After- 
noon from  Zech.  3.  9,  10. 

The  Andros  government  was  composed  of  the  gov- 
ernor, deputy  governor,  and  council,  without  repre- 
sentatives from  the  towns,  and  they  laid  what  taxes 
they  thought  proper.  This  was  naturally  much  com- 
plained of,  but  those  persons  who  complained  were  very 
severely  dealt  with.  For  instance,  when  the  selectmen 
of  Ipswich  voted  "that  inasmuch  as  it  is  against  the 
privilege  of  English  subjects  to  have  money  raised  with- 
out their  own  consent  in  an  assembly  of  Parliament, 
therefore  they  will  petition  the  King  for  liberty  of  an 
assembly  before  they  make  any  rates,"  they  were  prose- 
cuted, imprisoned  and  fined,  some  twenty,  some  thirty, 
and  some  fifty  pounds.  Under  the  Andros  government 
Randolph  was  made  the  "Licenser  of  the  Press,"  but 
of  this  Hutchinson  says :  "There  was  not  so  much  room 
to  complain  as  if  the  press  had  been  at  liberty  before. 
It  only  changed  its  keeper" —  which  was  true. 

During  the  three  years  of  government  without  a 
Charter,  under  the  hateful  rule  of  Dudley  and  Andros, 
the  Town  House  was  called  the  "Council  House"  by 
the  governor,  but  the   colonists  never  adopted  the 

[   H8  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

name.  It  was  long  supposed  that  no  public  records  of 
the  conduct  of  the  Andros  government  were  preserved. 
Hutchinson  gives  a  list  of  the  Council  which  he  sup- 
posed to  be  genuine.  But  after  he  wrote,  the  original 
journal  of  the  governor  and  Council  of  the  first  four 
months  of  the  Andros  government  was  discovered,  and 
is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  A  journal  was 
doubtless  kept  for  the  entire  period,  but  only  partial 
abstracts  of  it,  which  were  sent  to  England  from  time 
to  time,  are  now  available.  A  few  extracts  from  Sewall's 
"Diary,"  however,  show  the  temper  of  the  times. 

Tuesday,  January  25,  1687.  This  is  kept  for  St.  Paul,  and  the 
Bell  was  rung  in  the  Morning  to  call  persons  to  Service.  The  Gov- 
ernour  (I  am  told)  was  there.  Monday,  Jan.  31.  There  is  a  meet- 
ing at  the  Town-house  forenoon  and  afternoon.  Bell  rung  for  it, 
respecting  the  beheading  Charles  the  First. 

Both  these  observances  must  have  been  offensive  to 
most  of  the  colonists.  Saints'  days  were  scarcely  less 
objectionable  to  them  than  references  to  King  Charles 
as  a  martyr.  "Augt.  24,  1687.  Bartholomew-day.  In- 
dulgence for  Liberty  of  Conscience  published  here." 
This  was  King  James's  first  Declaration  of  Indulgence, 
of  April  4,  1687.  Again  Sewall  wrote: 

When  came  from  the  funeral,  (of  Mr.  Morton)  went  to  the 
Town -house,  and  there  the  Ll  Governour  deliver'd  Majr  Gen1 
Winthrop,  &c,  their  Comission  for  going  to  N-York. 

Apr.  15.  Post  comes  to  Town.  Apr.  16.  His  Excellencies  Letter 
to  the  L*  Governour  and  council  is  read,  dated  Ap.  4.  N.  York. 
Thanks  for  Praying  for  Him,  which  saw  by  the  order  for  the  Fast ; 
doubts  not  but  far'd  the  better.  Shall  write  more  by  the  next,  was 
now  in  pain  by  the  Gout. 

[  179] 


The  Story  of  the 

Again  on  July  24,  1688,  Sewall  wrote  Rev.  Increase 
Mather,  who  was  then  in  London,  that  "There  was  a 
Gallery  erected  last  Thorsday,  at  the  east  end  of  the 
Town  House,  from  whence  His  Excellency's  new 
Comission  was  published,  8  Companys  being  in  Arms. 
About  two  a  clock  the  Lecture  began,  Mr.  Lawson 
preached." 

November  3, 1688,  Sewall  notes  that  "Capt.  White 
comes  and  presses  me  in  His  Majesties  Name  to  ap- 
pear at  the  Townhouse  compleat  in  Arms  next  Mon- 
day at  11.  aclock;"  and  notes  that  Jonathan  Wales 
offered  to  serve  in  his  stead  for  five  pounds,  and  he 
agreed  with  him  and  had  him  to  the  Market-place  at 
the  hour  "where  Capt.  White  listed  him  in  my  stead 
and  dismiss'd  me."  Sewall  was  then  preparing  to  go  to 
England,  and  did  go  on  November  22,  1688. 

Friday,  January  17, 1689,  Sewall  notes  that  he  "  went 
after  diner  to  the  Town-House,  to  Mr.  Addington, 
from  thence  to  Mr.  Browning's,  from  thence  with  Mr. 
Cotton  Mather  to  the  Prisoners  who  were  condemned 
on  Friday."  The  prisoners  were  the  pirates  who  were 
afterwards  hanged  on  Boston  Common. 

The  Town  House  was  also  then  used  as  a  place  of 
public  prayer.  Sewall  records:  "Wednesday,  Decembr. 
17,  1690.  A  Day  of  Prayer  is  kept  at  the  Townhouse, 
Mr.  Allen  prays,  Mr.  Moodey  preaches,  Mr.  Willard 
prays."  Also :  "June  17.  Fast  at  the  Townhouse,  Magis- 
trates, Ministers :  Mr.  Hale,  Bayly,  Brinsmead,  Torrey, 
Moodey,  Willard  pray,  Mr.  Lee  preaches." 

The  fasts  and  sermons  and  lectures  in  the  Town 
House  must  have  been  objectionable  to  Sir  Edmund 

[  180] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Andros,  though  he  did  not  actually  forbid  them.  But 
he  faithfully  and  persistently  carried  out  his  instruc- 
tions. He  established  a  strict  censorship  over  the  print- 
ing-press; and  by  many  tyrannies  excited  and  increased 
the  actual  hatred  of  the  colonists  for  him  and  his  au- 
thority. He  permitted  towns  to  meet  once  a  year  to 
choose  their  own  officers,  but  forbade  them  to  hold 
meetings  at  any  other  times  or  for  any  other  purposes. 
He  also  appointed  officials  who  extorted  excessive  fees 
from  the  people.  When  the  news  of  the  birth  of  a  son 
to  King  James  was  received,  Andros  issued  a  proclama- 
tion for  a  general  thanksgiving,  and  ordered  the  minis- 
ters in  Boston  to  cause  the  proclamation  to  be  publicly 
read  in  their  congregations,  which  was  much  against 
their  will. 

Schools  and  shops  were  closed  by  his  order  on  Christ- 
mas. Rev.  Joshua  Moody  wrote  to  Rev.  Increase  Ma- 
ther on  the  8th  of  January,  1688-9,  saying,  "And  the 
shutting  up  shops  on  X*mas  day,  &  driving  the  mr  out 
of  the  school  on  X*mas  Holy-daies  are  very  grievous." 

The  attendance  of  the  Council  under  his  government 

was  very  small  in  number,  sometimes  not  more  than 

four  or  five,  but  on  January  28, 1686,  they  passed  the 

following  order  restricting  the  freedom  of  the  press: 

His  Excl  takeing  notice  of  the  great  danger  wch  might  ensue  by 
permitting  the  use  of  Printing  presses  in  Boston  and  in  the  Town 
of  Cambridge  unless  speedily  taken  care  of  and  thereupon  ordered 
That  no  Papers,  books  or  Pamphlets  be  henceforth  printed  either 
in  Boston  or  Cambridge  untill  licensed  according  to  law  and  that 
no  printer  be  admitted  and  licensed  to  print  untill  he  hath  given 
five  hundred  pound  bond  to  his  Maty  in  the  Secretary's  office 
not  to  print  any  unlicensed  papers,  books  or  pamphlets,  That 

[181  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

copies  of  Books  &c.  to  be  printed  be  first  perused  by  Mr  Dud- 
ley late  President  and  upon  his  allowance  of  them  for  the  Press 
that  one  copie  thereof  so  allowed  and  attested  by  him  be  brought 
to  the  Secrys  office  to  be  left  on  record  and  recieve  from  him  an 
Imprimatur. 


[  182  ] 


Use  of  the  Town  House  by  the  Provisional 
Government:  1689-1692 

And  by  the  Provincial  Government  under 
the  Province  Charter:  1692-1711 

NOVEMBER,  1688,  the  Prince  of  Orange  landed 
in  England,  and  the  government  there  was 
changed  by  the  accession  of  himself  and  his  wife,  as 
William  and  Mary.  Information  of  this  revolution  in 
England  was  brought  to  Boston,  April  4, 1689,  by  one 
John  Winslow,  who  came  from  the  island  of  Nevis, 
bringing  with  him  a  copy  of  the  Prince's  Declaration. 
Upon  his  landing  Andros  sent  the  sheriff  to  bring  him 
to  his  house,  and  asked  for  the  declaration,  which 
Winslow  declined  to  give  to  him,  and  Andros  there- 
fore sent  him  to  prison  upon  the  charge  of  bringing 
"traiterious  and  treasonous  libels"  into  the  Colony. 

The  declaration,  however,  was  speedily  printed  and 
circulated  as  a  broadside,  and  on  April  18  the  people 
rose  throughout  the  town,  seized  the  friends  of  Andros, 
including  members  of  his  Council,  the  sheriff,  Randolph, 
and  others,  and  confined  them  in  the  jail.  To  insure  the 
safe  keeping  of  these  persons  they  also  shut  up  in  the 
jail  the  jail-keeper,  and  put  Scates,  "The  Bricklayer," 
in  his  place.  They  also  seized  the  captain  of  the  royal 
frigate  Rose,  in  the  harbour,  who  was  in  the  town,  and 
shut  him  up  in  jail.  Then  Simon  Bradstreet,  Thomas 
Danforth,  John  Richards,  Elisha  Cooke,  and  Isaac  Ad- 
dington,  who  were  respectively  governor,  lieutenant 
governor,  and  of  the  Court  of  Assistants  at  the  close 

[  183  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

of  the  government  under  the  Charter  in  1686,  came 
to  the  Council  Chamber  in  the  Town  House,  and  were 
joined  by  many  prominent  citizens  of  the  town.  There 
they  drew  up  and  sent  to  Andros  the  following  paper: 

At  the  Town-House  in  Boston,  April  18.  1689. 
SIR, 

OVR  Selves  and  many  others  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town,  and 
the  Places  adjacent,  being  surprized  with  the  Peoples  sudden  tak- 
ing of  Arms;  in  the  first  motion  whereof  we  were  wholly  ignorant^ 
being  driven  by  the  present  Accident,  are  necessitated  to  acquaint 
your  Excellency,  that  for  the  quieting  and  securing  of  the  People 
inhabiting  in  this  Country  from  the  imminent  Dangers  they  many 
ways  lie  open  and  exposed  to,  and  tendring  your  own  Safety,  We 
judge  it  necessary  you  forthwith  surrender  and  deliver  up  to  the 
Government  and  Fortification  to  be  preserved  and disposed  accor ding 
to  Order  and  Direction  from  the  Crown  of  England,  which  sud- 
denly is  expected  may  arrive ;  promising  all  security  from  violence 
to  your  Self  or  any  of  your  Gentlemen  or  Souldiers  in  Person  and 
Estate:  Otherwise  we  are  assured  they  will  endeavour  the  taking  of 
the  Fortification  by  Storm,  if  any  Opposition  be  made. 
To  Sir  Edmund  Andros  Kt. 

This  address  was  also  issued  as  a  broadside  in  black- 
letter,  and  a  copy  is  now  in  the  library  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society. 

Then  a  long  paper,  entitled  "  The  Declaration  of  the 
Gentlemen,  Merchants  and  Inhabitants  of  Boston  and 
the  Country  Adjacent,"  which  had  obviously  been  pre- 
pared before,  was  read  from  the  east  end  of  the  Town 
House.  The  imprint  on  this  declaration  is  "Boston, 
Printed  by  Samuel  Green  and  sold  by  Benjamin  Har- 
ris, at  the  London  Coffee  House,  1689." 

Hutchinson  says :  "A  long  declaration  was  read  from 
the  balcony  or  gallery  of  the  Town  House There 

[  184  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

would  be  room  to  doubt  whether  this  declaration  was 
not  a  work  of  time,  and  prepared  beforehand,  if  it  did 
not  appear  by  the  style  and  language  to  have  been  the 
performance  of  one  of  the  ministers  of  Boston  [Mr. 
Mather]  who  had  a  remarkable  talent  for  very  quick 
and  sudden  composures.  Besides,  it  was  not  printed  for 
several  days  after,  and  perhaps  was  corrected  and  en- 
larged." 

Andros  surrendered  and  was  brought  from  the  Cas- 
tle to  the  Town  House,  and  then  confined  for  that 
night  in  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Usher,  opposite  the 
Town  House.  The  next  day  he  was  taken  to  the  fort 
and  there  confined  under  strict  guard.  This  uprising 
against  the  Andros  rule  was  wholly  Puritan.  The  Epis- 
copalians took  no  part  in  it,  but  described  it  in  the 
records  of  King's  Chapel  as  "a  most  impious  and  de- 
testable rebellion  against  the  King's  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment." Governor  Andros's  own  account  of  these  excit- 
ing occurrences  was  that  he  went  to  the  Town  House, 
— it  being  the  "Ordinary  Councill  day," — and  that — 

When  he  came  to  the  Councill  Chamber  he  found  severall  of 
the  sayd  former  popular  Majestrates  and  other  cheife  prsons  then 
prsent,  with  those  of  the  Councill,  who  had  noe  suitable  regard  to 
him,  nor  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  Countrey,  but  instead  of  give- 
ing  any  assistance  to  support  the  Government,  made  him  a  pri- 
soner and  also  imprisoned  'some  members  of  the  Councill  and  other 
officers,  who  in  pursuance  of  their  respective  dutyes  and  stations 
attended  on  him,  and  kept  them  for  the  space  of  ten  months  undr 
severe  and  close  confinement  untill  by  His  Maties  comand  they 
were  sent  for  to  England  to  answer  what  might  be  objected  to 
them,  Where,  after  summons  given  to  the  prtended  Agents  of 
New  England  and  their  twice  appearance  at  the  Councill  Board, 
nothing  being  objected  by  them  or  others,  they  were  discharged. 

[185] 


The  Story  of  the 

He  also  said:  "The  Confederates  at  Boston  possessed 
themselves  of  all  His  Maties  stores,  armes  ammunicon 
and  other  implements  of  warr,  and  disabled  His  Maties 
man  of  war  the  Rose  frigatt  by  secureing  the  Comandr 
and  bringing  her  sayles  on  shoare ;  and  at  the  same  time 
haveing  imprisoned  the  secretary  and  some  other  of- 
ficers, they  broke  open  the  Secrys  Office  and  seized  and 
conveyed  away  all  records  papers  and  wrightings." 

When  the  news  of  the  landing  of  William  of  Orange 
on  the  English  coast  was  received  in  Boston,  Andros 
wrote  to  a  friend,  "There  is  a  general  buzzing  among 
the  people,  great  with  the  expectation  of  regaining  the 
old  charter." 

On  April  20,  1689,  a  provisional  government  was 
formed  in  the  TownHouse,  called  "The  Council  for  the 
Safety  of  the  People  and  Conservation  of  the  Peace." 
Simon  Bradstreet,  the  last  governor  under  the  Charter, 
was  made  president.  The  Council  asked  the  towns  to 
send  deputies,  "not  exceeding  two  for  each  town,  ex- 
cept Boston  four,  to  form  an  assembly;"  and  sixty-six 
persons,  who  were  thus  sent,  met  at  Boston  in  the  Town 
House  and  acted  as  representatives  of  the  people.  This 
government  continued  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the 
Colony  as  a  provisional  government  until  the  arrival 
of  Sir  William  Phips  with  the  new  Charter,  in  1692. 

In  June  the  following  order  to  remove  the  arms  in 

the  fort  to  the  Town  House  was  made  and  executed : 

Ordered  That  Capt  Edwd  Wyllys  Comandr  in  Cheif  at  the  Fort 
in  Boston  take  a  True  Jnventory  of  all  the  arms,  that  he  finds 
left  in  the  Fort,  and  Remove  the  Same  to  the  Town  house,  tak- 
ing Care,  that  they  be  Secured  from  loss,  and  Spoil. 

[  186] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

This  provisional  government  of  the  Colony  ruled  un- 
til May  16,  1692,  or  a  little  more  than  three  years.  In 
the  meantime,  chiefly  by  the  activity  and  ability  of  the 
Rev.  Increase  Mather,  one  of  the  three  agents  who  had 
been  sent  to  England  to  obtain  a  renewal  of  the  Colony 
Charter,  a  new  Charter  was  granted  by  William  and 
Mary  on  October  7,  1691,  and  Sir  William  Phips  was 
appointed  governor  under  it. 

The  new  governor  arrived  at  Boston  with  the  new 
Charter,  Saturday,  May  14, 1692,  towards  evening.  On 
Monday,  the  16th,  he  was  conducted  from  his  house 
to  the  Town  House  by  the  troops,  magistrates,  minis- 
ters, and  principal  gentlemen  of  Boston  and  the  adja- 
cent towns.  Sewall  notes  that  "Eight  Companies  and 
two  from  Charlestown  guard  Sir  William  and  his 
Councillors  to  the  Town  House  where  the  Comissions 
were  read  and  Oaths  taken."  At  the  Town  House 
prayer  was  first  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  one  of 
the  ministers  of  Boston,  and  then  the  new  Charter  was 
published  with  sound  of  drum,  and  the  governors 
commission  was  read  and  published ;  and  then  the  ven- 
erable Bradstreet,  who  was  the  last  governor  under  the 
old  Charter,  and  had  been  president  of  the  Council  of 
Safety  from  the  overthrow  of  the  Andros  government 
in  1689,  resigned  the  executive  chair  to  Governor  Phips. 
Another  prayer  was  then  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mor- 
ton, a  minister  of  Charlestown,  and  the  government 
under  the  second  Charter  began. 

This  Charter  recited  the  forfeiture  of  the  old  Charter, 
but  confirmed  the  grants  which  had  been  made  under 
it  by  the  General  Court,  and  united  Massachusetts, 

[  187  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Plymouth,  Maine,  and  "  Accada,  or  Nova  Scotia,"  into 
one  Province  by  the  name  of  "Our  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England."  The  government 
of  this  Province  was  to  be  by  a  governor,  deputy 
governor,  and  secretary,  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and 
twenty-eight  assistants  or  councillors  to  the  gover- 
nor, the  first  of  whom  were  appointed  by  the  Charter, 
Simon  Bradstreet  being  the  first  named,  to  serve  un- 
til May,  1693.  Then  their  successors  were  to  be  chosen 
by  the  General  Court,  eighteen  for  Massachusetts,  four 
for  Plymouth,  three  for  Maine,  and  one  for  the  other 
territory  of  the  Province.  A  "  Great  or  General  Court 
or  Assembly  "  was  to  be  held  in  May  each  year,  and  at 
such  other  times  as  the  governor  should  appoint,  con- 
sisting of  the  governor,  the  Council,  and  two  freehold- 
ers elected  from  each  town  or  place  in  the  Province  by 
majority  vote  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants 
thereof.  The  General  Court  was  authorized  to  "erect 
judicatories  and  courts  of  record  and  other  courts,"  the 
officers  of  which  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  gover- 
nor, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council.  Pro- 
bate of  wills  and  administration  of  estates  was  vested 
in  the  governor  and  Council.  The  General  Court  was 
authorized  to  make  laws  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
England,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  governor,  and 
also  to  the  approbation  or  disallowance  of  the  Crown ; 
and  the  Charter  provided  that  "forever  hereafter  there 
shall  be  a  liberty  of  conscience  allowed  in  the  worship 
of  God  to  all  Christians  (except  papists)  inhabiting,  or 
which  shall  inhabit  or  be  resident  in  our  said  Province 
or  territory." 

[  188] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

When  the  administration  of  Governor  Phips  under 
the  new  Charter  began,  the  people  of  the  Colony  were 
much  exhausted  and  impoverished  by  the  long  French 
and  Indian  wars.  Their  treasury  had  been  bankrupted 
by  the  expense  of  the  expedition  to  Quebec ;  there  was 
nothing  with  which  to  pay  public  creditors ;  paper  money 
was  driving  out  real  money ;  payment  of  taxes  was  bur- 
densome and  the  collection  of  them  exceedingly  dif- 
ficult ;  the  authority  of  the  courts  was  disputed,  and 
practically  everything  had  come  to  a  standstill  in  the 
Colony,  except  the  mere  cultivation  of  the  soil  for  sub- 
sistence. 

In  addition  to  this,  a  strange  delusion  had  come  upon 
the  people,  called  the  "witchcraft  delusion."  The  peo- 
ple of  Massachusetts,  in  common  with  Christian  people 
elsewhere  at  that  time,  believed  in  the  existence  of 
witchcraft,  and  it  had  always  been  a  crime  in  the  Col- 
ony punishable  with  death.  The  act  against  capital 
crimes  provided  that "  if  any  man  or  woman  be  a  witch, 
that  is,  hath  or  consulteth  with  a  familiar  spirit,  they 
shall  be  put  to  death."  Before  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Phips  many  accusations  of  the  crime  of  witchcraft  had 
been  made,  and  nearly  a  hundred  persons  were  then 
imprisoned  and  awaiting  trial  upon  that  charge.  The 
new  Charter  provided  that  judicial  courts  should  be 
constituted  by  the  new  General  Assembly  or  General 
Court,  but  the  members  of  that  body  were  not  then 
even  chosen,  and  there  was  no  legal  court  by  which 
these  persons  could  be  lawfully  tried.  The  state  of  the 
public  mind,  however,  was  such  that  they  could  not 
be  released,  and  therefore  Governor  Phips,  by  the  ad- 

[189] 


The  Story  of  the 

vice  of  the  councillors  appointed  in  the  Charter,  con- 
stituted a  special  commission  of  seven  persons  to  try 
these  cases. 

This  commission  went  out  from  the  Town  House, 
with  the  cruel  and  bigoted  Stoughton  at  its  head.  In 
June  they  tried  and  condemned  one  Bridget  Bishop  to 
be  hanged,  and  she  was  hanged.  Four  weeks  after,  this 
so-called  court  sentenced  five  women  to  be  executed 
for  witchcraft,  and  they  were  all  executed.  One  of  them, 
Mrs.  Nourse,  an  eminent  woman  of  excellent  charac- 
ter, was  at  first  acquitted ;  but  Stoughton  sent  the  j  ury 
out  again,  instructing  them  that  she  had  confessed  her 
guilt,  and  they  then  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty.  At 
the  next  session,  in  August,  six  persons,  including  one 
minister  of  the  gospel,  were  convicted  and  executed. 
During  the  next  month  fifteen  persons,  six  women  in 
one  day,  and  eight  women  and  one  man  on  another  day, 
were  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced ;  and  eight  of  them 
were  hanged.  One  of  them,  Giles  Corey,  who  was  eighty 
years  of  age,  refused  to  plead,  i.  e.  to  answer  guilty  or 
not  guilty,  saying  that  the  whole  thing  was  an  impos- 
ture, and  he  was  pressed  to  death  with  heavy  weights 
laid  on  his  body,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  English 
law  subjecting  persons  to  this  punishment  who  refused 
to  plead.  In  October  the  General  Court  met  and  con- 
stituted a  regular  court  which  superseded  the  special 
witchcraft  commission.  Twenty-six  persons  were  in- 
dicted and  tried  before  this  court,  but  only  three  were 
found  guilty,  and  these  were  all  pardoned. 

Most  of  the  judges  and  jurors  who  participated  in 
these  trials  repented,  and  many  of  them  publicly  de- 

[190] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

clared  their  faults  and  entreated  forgiveness.  Judge 
Sewall,  one  of  the  commissioners,  made  written  public 
acknowledgment  of  his  great  offence  in  the  South 
Church  in  Boston,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  kept  every 
year  a  day  of  private  humiliation  and  prayer  for  his 
sins  in  that  matter. 

In  October,  1710,  the  last  year  in  which  the  Town 
House  stood,  the  General  Court  sitting  therein  passed 
an  act  annulling  all  the  convictions  for  witchcraft 
twenty  years  before,  and  making  grants  to  the  heirs  of 
those  who  had  been  executed  in  acknowledgment  of 
their  pecuniary  losses,  and  thus  some  tardy  atonement 
was  made  in  the  Town  House  for  the  great  wrongs 
which  had  been  done  under  a  commission  issued  from 
it  nearly  twenty  years  before. 

The  witchcraft  delusion  among  the  Massachusetts 
people,  however,  was  not  peculiar  to  them.  It  had  ex- 
isted for  centuries.  In  1484  Pope  Innocent  VIII  pro- 
claimed the  wide  prevalence  of  the  crime  and  enforced 
on  all  good  Catholics  the  duty  of  extirpating  it,  which, 
it  has  been  calculated,  caused  the  death  of  not  less  than 
one  hundred  thousand  people  in  Germany  alone.  In 
the  next  century  a  thousand  witches  are  said  to  have 
been  slaughtered  in  Lombardy,  and  in  the  century  fol- 
lowing about  five  hundred  persons  charged  with  witch- 
craft were  executed  in  the  republic  of  Geneva,  the 
home  of  Calvin,  which  had  then  a  population  not  more 
than  half  the  population  of  Massachusetts  when  twenty 
people  were  there  executed  for  witchcraft.  Similar  de- 
lusions existed  in  Sweden  and  in  England.  At  the  time 
of  the  Long  Parliament  more  than  one  hundred  peo- 

[191  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

pie  were  executed  for  witchcraft  in  Essex  and  Sus-rx 
alone,  with  the  approbation  of  the  ministers.  In  the  year 
that  King  Charles  was  executed  it  is  said  that  fourteen 
women  were  burned  as  witches  in  a  village  that  had 
but  fourteen  families. 

After  the  arrival  of  Governor  Phips  a  new  General 
Assembly  was  elected,  and  government  under  the  pro- 
vincial Charter  began.  The  new  government  was  ad- 
ministered from  the  Town  House,  where  the  General 
Assembly  and  the  courts  sat,  and  in  which  the  gover- 
nor and  Council  sat  in  the  Council  Chamber.  The  build- 
ing was  still  called  by  the  people  the  Town  House,  al- 
though officially  it  was  known  as  the  Province  House. 
The  colonists,  who  had  maintained  a  practically  inde- 
pendent government  under  the  old  Charter  for  nearly 
half  a  century,  did  not  readily  yield  to  a  government 
under  which  the  governor  was  appointed  by  the  Crown, 
and  the  election  of  councillors,  although  by  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  was  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  gov- 
ernor: and  the  power  reserved  by  the  Charter  to  the 
English  government  of  disapproving  any  law  of  the 
province  within  three  years,  though  not  at  first  a  cause 
of  trouble  because  the  power  was  not  at  first  exercised, 
ultimately  gave  great  dissatisfaction. 

Phips  was  a  man  of  violent  temper  which  brought 
him  into  many  personal  encounters  and  difficulties, 
and  finally,  in  November,  1694,  caused  him  to  be  re- 
called to  England,  where  he  died  in  February,  1695. 
This  left  the  office  of  governor  to  be  administered  by 
Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton.  The  following  curi- 

[192] 


CMd  Boston  Town  House 


oos  entry  in  SewalTs  -Diary"  shows  bow  Stooghtoo  s 

v^  .  j  ui  ::.t  iu::r-  ::  _::    t  :. ;:  ~  i~  :t :t.   tr 

Town:  I  toid  him  I 

me  of  fak  intended  Treat  at  Mr. 

had  best  to  incite.  Betraa  2L  and 

----    i-::i   -- -  r:    ::   ~.  7: 

no-.   He   I 

Hi-„-_    .i:.A:-r      .  --i^  1;-  -.  H...    -:.,.:-    M*    "■""_- 

■  aai  j^^  15. 
i*  go  to  Mr. 

cold  meat.  Gurfkn,  MnalHi  ■  i,  Jo 
Mr.  £■  noli  ■»■■,  Ac  Mr. 


^ersawavrtMr 

cmoor  and  read  the  A  r\.  dap  lull — Spake 

>-  :- 

I     r;    r  :    t  lizi^rrir.  :z    ::S::    r;:;- 


::;f    _lzt^  :..t  N  ; 


:  :sr  ; 


The  Story  of  the 

in  any  new  law  for  the  same  purpose  the  laws  to  be 
continued  should  be  particularly  specified.  Fifteen  of 
the  forty-five  acts  passed  at  the  first  two  sessions  of 
the  General  Court  under  the  new  Charter  were  disal- 
lowed by  the  Privy  Council  in  one  day,  among  others 
the  one  incorporating  Harvard  College,  because  no 
power  was  reserved  in  it  to  the  King  to  appoint  visi- 
tors. An  act  for  the  prevention  of  illegal  imprisonment 
was  disallowed,  because  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  had 
not  been  in  any  of  the  colonies ;  and  an  act  declaring 
that  the  colonists  were  exempt  from  all  taxes  except 
those  levied  by  the  General  Court  was  also  disallowed. 
On  July  12, 1696,  Sewall  records  that  he  "went  to  the 
Townhouse  and  after  a  while  P  (per)  Mr.  Whittingham 
rec'd  the  Packet  which  makes  void  many  of  our  Laws ; 
viz.  Courts,  Colledge,  Habeas  Corpus,  Forms  of  Writts 
&c.  and  Confirms  many  others."  The  home  government 
began  also  to  enforce  the  navigation  laws,  to  which  the 
colonists  had  always  objected. 

Finally  after  much  delay,  caused,  perhaps,  in  part  by 
these  difficulties,  the  Earl  of  Bellomont,  an  Irish  peer, 
was  appointed  governor,  not  only  of  the  Massachusetts 
Province,  but  of  New  Jersey  and  New  Hampshire  as 
well,  and  reached  New  York  in  April,  1697.  He  re- 
mained in  New  York  nearly  a  year,  when  he  came  to 
Massachusetts  in  answer  to  a  request  from  the  Gene- 
ral Court.  Much  difficulty  had  arisen  before  his  arrival 
in  establishing  the  courts  of  the  province.  Laws  passed 
by  the  General  Court  for  that  purpose  had  been  re- 
peatedly disallowed  in  England ;  but  finally,  under  the 
administration  of  Bellomont,  a  law  was  passed  which 

[  194  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

was  not  disallowed,  and  the  judicial  system  of  the 
Colony  was  permanently  established. 

Bellomont,  or  as  he  was  termed  from  his  family  name, 
Governor  Coote,  remained  in  the  province  only  about 
fourteen  months.  He  was  amiable  and  personally  agree- 
able, and  the  General  Court  made  two  grants  to  him 
as  governor  of  a  thousand  pounds  each,  larger  grants 
than  ever  made  to  a  governor  before  or  after.  Com- 
plaint was  made  that  these  grants  were  always  declared 
by  the  General  Court  to  be  presents,  or  to  be  given  in 
their  own  discretion,  and  the  royal  governors  continu- 
ally urged  that  their  salaries  should  be  put  upon  a  fixed 
basis,  which  the  General  Court  would  never  do.  Bello- 
mont died  in  New  York  in  March,  1701,  and  Stough- 
ton  again,  as  acting  governor,  ruled  in  the  Council 
Chamber  until  his  death  in  July  of  the  same  year.  Then 
under  the  provision  of  the  Charter  the  Council  became 
the  chief  executive  and  exercised  the  powers  of  the 
governor  from  the  Council  Chamber  in  the  Town 
House,  until  the  arrival  of  Joseph  Dudley  as  governor 
June  11, 1702.  A  committee  of  the  Council,  of  which 
Sewall  was  one,  was  sent  to  meet  him.  Sewall's  ac- 
count of  what  took  place,  including  his  own  speech,  was 
written  by  him  in  his  diary  at  length  as  follows : 

Mr.  Addington,  Eliakim  Hutchinson,  Byfield  and  Sewall,  sent 
per  the  Council,  go  with  Capt  Crofts  in  his  Pinace  to  meet  the 
Governour,  and  Congratulat  his  Arrival ;  We  get  aboard  a  little 
before  got  within  Point  Alderton;  Capt  Heron  introduced  us; 
After  had  all  saluted  the  Govr.  I  said, 

"Her  Majesty's  Council  of  this  Province  have  comanded  us  to 
meet  your  Excellency,  and  congratulate  your  safe  Arrival  in  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  quality  of  our  Governour:  Which  we  do 

[195] 


The  Story  of  the 

very  heartily ;  not  only  out  of  Obedience  to  our  Masters  who  sent 
us ;  but  also  of  our  own  accord.  The  Cloaths  your  Excellency  sees 
us  wear,  are  a  true  Indication  of  our  inward  Grief  for  the  De- 
parture of  K.  William.  Yet  we  desire  to  remember  with  Thank  - 
fullness  the  Goodness  of  God,  who  has  at  this  time  peacably 
placed  Queen  Anne  upon  the  Throne.  And  as  Her  Majesty s  Name 
imports  Grace,  so  we  trust  God  will  shew  Her  Majesty  Favour; 
and  Her  Majesty  us.  And  we  look  upon  your  Excellency's  being 
sent  to  us,  as  a  very  fair  First-Fruit  of  it,  for  which  we  bless  God 
and  Queen  Anne." 

I  was  startled  at  2  or  3  things;  viz.  The  IA  Governour  (Tho- 
mas Povey)  a  stranger,  sent,  whom  we  knew  nor  heard  anything 
of  before :  When  the  Gov1"  first  mention'd  it,  I  understood  him 
of  Mr.  Addington.  I  saw  an  ancient  Minister,  enquiring  who  it 

was,  Governour  said,  twas  G Keith,  had  converted  many  in 

England,  and  now  Bp.  London  had  sent  him  hether  with  Salery 
of  200.  Guineys  per  anum.  I  look'd  on  him  as  Helena  aboard. 
This  man  crav'd  a  Blessing  and  return'd  Thanks,  though  there 
was  a  chaplain  of  the  Ship,  and  another  Minister  on  board.  Gov- 
ernour has  a  very  large  Wigg.  Drink  Healths,  About  one  and 
Twenty  Guns  fired  at  our  leaving  the  Centurion;  and  Cheers, 
then  Capt  Scot  and  another  Ship  fired.  Castle  fired  many  Guns; 
Landed  at  Scarlet's  Wharf,  where  the  Council  and  Regiment 
waited  for  us;  just  before  came  at  the  North-Meetinghouse  Clock 
struck  five.  Was  the  Troop  of  Guards,  and  Col.  Paige's  Troop. 
March'd  to  the  Townhouse.  There  before  the  Court;  Ministers, 
and  as  many  else  as  could  crowd  in,  the  Governour's  and  L* 
Govrs.  Comissions  were  published;  they  took  their  Oaths  laying 
their  hands  on  the  Bible,  and  after  Kissing  it.  Had  a  large  Treat. 
Just  about  dark  Troops  Guarded  the  Gov1"  to  Roxbury.  He  rode 
in  Major  Hobby's  Coach  Drawn  with  six  Horses  richly  harnessed. 
By  mistake,  my  coachman  stayed  in  the  yard,  and  so  Joseph  and 
I  went  alone.  Foot  gave  S  very  good  Volleys  after  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Comissions,  and  were  dismiss'd.  Mr.  Mather  crav'd  a 
Blessing  and  Mr.  Cotton  Mather  return'd  Thanks. 

Dudley  had  been  perhaps  the  most  unpopular  man 
in  the  Colony,  and  in  the  revolt  of  1689  was  arrested 

[  196  ] 


Ia^^iJv  -JJuixlLeM 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

and  imprisoned  for  about  five  months  by  the  Brad- 
street  provisional  government.  He  went  to  England 
upon  his  release,  and  was  afterwards  governor  of  the 
Isle  of  Wight  and  member  of  Parliament.  It  was  a 
strange  turn  of  fortune  when  he  came  back  to  the  Town 
House  as  a  royal  governor  under  Queen  Anne.  He  was 
a  man  of  craft,  intrigue,  and  of  great  ability.  As  gover- 
nor he  aped  royalty  and  required  the  speaker  and  Gen- 
eral Court  to  attend  before  him.  On  his  arrival,  fol- 
lowing the  example  which  had  first  been  set  by  Bello- 
mont,  of  addressing  the  legislature  in  a  speech,  he  made 
an  address  to  the  General  Court  which  provoked  much 
popular  indignation,  and  they  took  no  action  upon  any 
of  his  proposals  for  legislation  except  to  make  him  a 
grant  of  five  hundred  pounds. 

Dudley  was  governor  during  the  last  nine  years  of 
the  life  of  the  Town  House.  The  first  part  of  the  time 
there  was  constant  discord  between  him  and  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  He  asked  them  to  appropriate  money  for 
fortifications  in  the  Province  outside  of  Massachusetts, 
which  they  steadily  refused  to  do.  He  insisted  that  they 
should  provide  fixed  and  permanent  salaries  for  the  gov- 
ernor and  the  judges,  and  this  they  persistently  refused 
to  do.  He  desired  them  to  appropriate  money  to  be 
spent  at  his  discretion,  and  they  refused  to  appropriate 
money  for  any  purpose  not  specified  in  the  act  of.  ap- 
propriation. He  exercised  his  power  to  disapprove  the 
election  of  councillors  against  those  who  had  been  his 
former  opponents  and  in  favour  of  his  personal  friends, 
and  the  General  Court  resented  this  by  reducing  their 
grants  for  his  salary.  But  time  and  custom  ease  all 

[  197  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

things,  and  gradually  these  difficulties  were  either  re- 
conciled or  tolerated  by  both  parties,  except  that  the 
General  Court  wisely  retained  the  power  of  the  purse, 
and  would  make  no  fixed  grants  of  salaries  to  a  royal 
governor  or  his  appointees.  Dudley  was  of  the  Puritan 
stock,  and  desired  to  keep  his  office  and  his  home  in 
the  Colony,  and  the  colonists,  beneath  all  their  objec- 
tions to  him  and  his  rule,  feared  that  if  he  ceased  to  be 
governor  they  were  likely  to  have  a  worse  one  in  his 
stead. 

The  last  few  years  of  the  life  of  the  Town  House 
were  unfortunate  days  for  the  Colony  and  the  town. 
The  population  of  the  town  had  ceased  to  increase.  In 
1705  only  seven  new  inhabitants  were  admitted;  in 
1706,  two;  in  1707,  one;  in  1708,  four;  in  1709,  five; 
and  in  1710,  two.  Paper  money,  called  bills  of  credit, 
had  been  issued  to  such  an  extent  as  to  drive  good 
money  out  of  the  Colony,  and  in  1708  Dudley  asked 
the  General  Court  to  pass  laws  to  prevent  bills  of  credit 
being  "undersold."  Municipal  officers  in  Boston  were 
complained  of  and  preached  against  as  administering 
the  affairs  of  the  town  for  their  selfish  purposes.  The 
affairs  of  the  town  had  come  into  such  disorder  that 
in  order  to  remedy  them  a  committee  of  thirty-one  citi- 
zens, including  the  selectmen,  was  appointed  to  draft 
an  act  of  incorporation  as  a  city  or  borough,  and  such 
an  act  was  reported  to  the  town  meeting  and  voted 
down  March  14,  1709,  by  a  large  majority. 

The  following  from  Sewall's  "Diary"  shows  the 
Puritan  feeling  as  to  uses  made  of  the  Town  House 
during  the  last  years  of  its  existence : 

[  198] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

November  5,  1697,  he  notes:  "Guns  fired  with  respect  to  the 
King's  Birth-day.  At  night  great  Illumination  made  in  the  Town- 
house Governour  and  Council  and  many  Gentlemen  there." 

Feb1".  5th.  170§.  Col.  Elisha  Hutchinson.  Col.  Penn  Townsend, 
Capt.  Andrew  Belcher,  and  Samuel  Sewall  rid  to  Roxbury  in  the 
Hackney  coach;  Capt.  Jeremiah  Durner,  Mr.  Edward  Bromfield 
on  horseback :  Went  on  purpose  to  speak  to  the  Governour  against 
having  Illuminations,  especially  in  the  Town  house ;  That  so  the 
profanation  of  the  Sabbath  might  be  prevented.  I  said  twould  be 
most  for  the  Honor  of  God;  and  that  would  be  most  for  the 
Honor  and  Safety  of  Queen  Anne.  Governour  said  twould  be  hard 
for  him  to  forbid  it,  considering  how  good  the  Queen  was,  what 
successes  God  had  given  her.  I  answered,  It  could  not  be  intro- 
duced into  the  Town-house  without  his  Excellency's  Order,  for 
under  his  Excellency  the  Government  of  the  Town  was  (partly) 
comitted  to  us.  Govr  answer'd  not  a  word.  Others  urged  our  Law, 
the  Grief  of  Good  People,  his  best  Friends.  And  I  think  all  was 
said  between  us,  that  could  be  said. 

Tuesday,  Apr.  23,  1706  Govr.  comes  to  Town  guarded  by  the 
Troops  with  their  Swords  drawn; dines  at  the  Dragon, from  thence 
proceeds  to  the  Townhouse,  Illuminations  at  night.  Capt.  Pelham 
tells  me  several  wore  crosses  in  their  Hats;  which  makes  me  re- 
solve to  stay  at  home;  (though  Maxwell  was  at  my  House  and 
spake  to  me  to  be  at  the  Council-Chamber  at  4.  p.  m.)  Because  to 
drinking  Healths,  now  the  Keeping  of  a  Day  to  fictitious  St. 
George,  is  plainly  set  on  foot. 


[199] 


Destruction  of  the  Town  House 

I  AM  loth  to  write  of  the  destruction  of  the  Town 
House.  The  study  of  the  people  by  whom  it  was 
built,  of  their  use  of  it,  of  what  they  did  in  and  about  it, 
makes  them  all  real  and  personal.  We  can  see  the  little 
band  of  Puritans  under  Winthrop  building  their  rude 
dwellings  about  the  Great  Street  and  along  the  High 
Street,  and  in  the  crooked  ways  leading  out  of  these, 
and  slowly  adapting  their  customs  and  making  their 
laws  to  suit  the  conditions  about  them.  We  can  see  the 
pious  Captain  Keayne  laboriously  writing  the  pages  of 
his  voluminous  will,  framed  not  only  to  vindicate  him- 
self from  injustice,  but  also  to  benefit  the  citizens  of  the 
town ;  and  considering  the  question  of  a  town  house 
with  a  market  beneath,  a  conduit  for  the  supply  of 
water  by  its  side,  and  rooms  for  the  selectmen  and  the 
elders,  the  town  meetings,  and  a  library  chamber  within. 
We  can  see  the  inhabitants  giving  of  their  scanty 
means  in  small  moneys  and  in  produce  and  merchan- 
dise to  add  to  the  bounty  of  Captain  Keayne  sufficient 
to  build  the  Town  House.  We  can  see  the  people  help- 
ing at  the  raising  of  the  building,  and  watching  its 
construction  with  all  the  interest  which  that  first  great 
public  work  in  Boston  naturally  excited.  We  can  see 
the  building  standing  in  simple  civic  dignity  at  the  head 
of  the  Great  Street,  encircled  within  its  arms,  with  the 
High  Street  stretching  southward  to  the  fields  and 
northward  to  the  sea,  and  with  the  narrow  Prison  Lane 
leading  westward  by  the  prison  and  the  school-house 
to  the  burying-ground.  We  can  see  the  sober,  sombre 

[  201  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

faces  of  the  Puritans  at  the  first  town  meeting  in  the 
Town  House,  and  in  the  use  of  "the  little  room"  for 
the  selectmen,  the  Library  Chamber  and  the  granary 
in  the  Town  House.  The  structure  doubtless  seemed  as 
commodious  and  perfect  to  them  as  any  public  build- 
ing since  erected  in  Boston  has  seemed  to  their  descend- 
ants. 

We  can  see  orderly  civil  government  slowly  worked 
out  by  the  debates  and  the  contests  within  the  wooden 
walls  of  the  Town  House;  executive,  legislative  and 
judicial  functions  separated,  the  right  of  taxation  lim- 
ited, a  code  of  written  laws  established,  and  all  the 
fundamental  principles  which  underlie  our  constitu- 
tional government  in  Massachusetts  to-day  practically 
established  by  the  Puritan  colony  in  the  Boston  Town 
House. 

We  can  see  the  citizens  of  Boston  in  their  town 
meetings,  instructing  their  representatives  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  as  well  as  dealing  with  the  various  subjects 
of  municipal  government,  regulations  for  building,  care 
of  streets,  laying  out  of  highways,  primary  education, 
industrial  education,  protection  against  fire,  providing 
for  the  watch  and  ward  and  the  policing  of  the  town, 
regulating  the  hours  and  prices  of  labour,  providing  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  governing  in  their  action  all 
the  necessities  of  the  people  as  they  slowly  developed 
an  efficient  municipal  government. 

We  see  the  shops  of  the  artisans,  the  traders,  and  the 
booksellers  cluster  about  and  beneath  the  Town  House, 
and  all  the  commercial  and  intellectual  activities  of  the 
town  come  to  be  there  centred. 

[  202  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

One  seems  to  be  acquainted  with  the  leaders  in  all 
this,  and  to  see  Endicott,  Leverett,  Bellingham,  Brad- 
street,  Stoughton  and  Sewall;  and  Wilson,  Mather, 
Mayhew  and  Cotton,  ministers  of  Boston,  walk  the 
crooked  streets  of  the  little  town  and  sternly  rule  its 
affairs. 

We  see  Andros,the  representative  of  royal  authority, 
clad  in  scarlet  and  in  lace,  walk  up  the  Great  Street, 
and  take  possession  of  the  Town  House  as  a  Province 
House  after  the  revocation  of  the  Colony  Charter.  We 
see  him,  dominant  and  despotic,  summoning  the  minis- 
ters of  Boston  to  the  Library  Chamber  and  command- 
ing them  to  open  their  meeting-houses  to  the  worship 
of  the  English  Church.  We  can  imagine  the  surprise  of 
this  soldier  of  fortune  and  representative  of  power  when 
he  met  a  resisting  force  of  which  he  had  never  dreamed, 
— the  Puritan  conscience, — and  was  firmly  told  by  the 
ministers  that  what  he  demanded  could  not  be  because 
it  "did  entrench  upon  their  conscience."  We  can  see 
him  yielding  for  a  time  to  a  compromise  by  which  in 
the  Library  Chamber  of  the  Town  House  worship  ac- 
cording to  the  Church  of  England  was  first  had  in  Bos- 
ton "by  authority,"  and  then  later,  impatient  with  op- 
position, forcibly  seizing  upon  the  Old  South  Meeting- 
house for  that  worship.  We  can  see  the  uprising  of  the 
people  against  Andros  and  see  him  brought  to  the  Town 
House  and  imprisoned ;  and  then  see  the  mild  rule  of 
Bradstreet  and  the  provisional  government,  and  finally 
a  government  established  in  the  Town  House  under 
a  new  charter  as  a  compromise  between  the  colonists 
and  the  Crown.  We  can  see  Dudley  vainly  striving 

[  203  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

with  all  his  great  ability  to  make  the  compromise  of 
the  new  charter  acceptable  to  the  Crown  and  to  the 
colonists. 

We  can  see  commerce  and  trade  increase,  a  church 
provided  for  worship  by  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  even  a  Quaker  meeting-house  officially  ap- 
proved, and  the  stern  severity  of  the  Puritan  rule  slowly 
modified  and  relaxed. 

The  Town  House  was  the  centre  of  all  this  and  more, 
and  one  does  not  willingly  write  of  its  destruction.  I 
wish  it  could  have  stood  down  to  the  present  time,  like 
the  old  Rathhauses  of  Germany  and  the  ancient  muni- 
cipal buildings  of  England,  as  a  visible  evidence  of  the 
early  conditions  of  Boston  and  of  the  Colony,  and  a 
perpetual  reminder  of  the  olden  time  and  of  the  trials, 
the  suffering  and  endurance  of  the  Puritans,  whose  con- 
scientious persistence  achieved  so  much  for  liberty  and 
law.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  It  was  destroyed  in  1711, 
and  its  destruction  came  by  fire,  that  greatest  danger 
to  which  the  early  settlers  of  Boston  were  exposed. 

There  was  no  regular  laying  out  of  streets,  and  the 
original  territory  was  so  limited  that  the  allotments 
to  the  settlers  were  necessarily  small.  The  ways  upon 
which  the  early  dwellings  were  built  were  crooked  and 
narrow ;  for  lack  of  other  material  their  houses  were 
mainly  of  wood  and  with  thatched  or  wooden  roofs.  In 
1653  there  was  a  fire  which  destroyed  many  dwellings. 
In  1675  the  North  Meeting-house,  several  warehouses, 
and  about  forty-five  dwellings  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
In  1679  a  fire  destroyed  eighty  dwelling  houses,  seventy 
stores,  and  several  vessels  lying  at  their  docks. 

[  204  ] 


.—r~^ 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

In  consequence  of  this  fire  in  1679,  the  first  building 

law  was  passed  as  follows: 

This  Court  having  a  sense  of  the  great  Ruines  in  Boston  by 
Fire,  and  hazard  still  of  the  same  by  reason  of  the  joyning  and 
nearness  of  their  buildings;  for  prevention  of  damage  and  loss 
thereby  for  future,  Do  therefore  Order  and  Enact ;  That  hence- 
forth no  dwelling  house  in  Boston  shall  be  erected  and  set  up,  ex- 
cept of  stone  or  brick,  and  covered  with  Slate  or  Tyle,  on  penalty 
of  forfieting  double  the  value  of  such  buildings,  unless  by  allow- 
ance and  liberty  obteined  otherwise  from  the  Magistrates,  Com- 
missioners and  Selectmen  of  Boston,  or  major  part  of  them. 

The  execution  of  this  law  was  suspended  the  next 
year  for  three  years,  the  General  Court  saying  they  did 
it  "considering  the  present  inability  of  many  Persons 
that  have  suffered  great  loss  by  the  late  Fire,  to  rebuild 
with  Brick  or  Stone." 

In  1683,  however,  the  General  Court  again  ordered — 

That  henceforth  no  Dwelling-house,  Warehouse,  Shop,  Barn, 
Stable,  or  any  other  Housing,  shall  be  Erected  and  set  up  in  Bos- 
ton, except  of  Stone,  or  Brick,  and  covered  with  Slate  or  Tyle; 
on  penalty  of  forfeiting  one  hundred  pounds  in  Money  to  the  use 
of  the  said  Town  for  every  House  built  otherwise,  unless  by  al- 
lowance and  liberty  obtained  from  this  Court,  from  time  to  time. 

In  1692  this  law  was  modified  so  that  it  should  be 
lawful  "to  Erect  any  small  building ;  Providing,  it  do 
not  exceed  eight  Foot  square,  and  seven  Foot  studd, 
of  Wood  or  Timber;  any  Law  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding :  Provided  they  have  the  Approbation  of 
the  Select-men  of  said  Town." 

Permission  to  build  larger  wooden  buildings  was, 

however,  frequently  granted  by  the  selectmen,  and 

even  meeting-houses  were  constructed  of  wood.  Sewall 

makes  the  following  quaint  entry  in  his  diary  under  date 

[  205  ]  * 


The  Story  of  the 

of  August  23, 1708:  "mane,  at  Council,  A  Petition  for 
building  a  Quaker  Meeting-house  with  Wood,  pass'd 
by  the  Selectmen  and  Justices  of  the  Town ;  was  now 
offer'd  to  the  Govr  and  Council:  I  opposed  it;  said  I 
would  not  have  a  hand  in  setting  up  their  Devil  Wor- 
ship." 

At  last  the  dreaded  calamity  occurred,  and  the  Town 
House  was  destroyed  by  a  great  fire  on  October  2, 
1711.  This  fire  also  destroyed  the  homes  of  over  a  hun- 
dred families,  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  State  Street 
and  Washington  Street,  and  the  meeting-house.  The 
best  account  of  it  is  found  in  "The  Boston  News-Let- 
ter,"  as  follows : 

The  Boston  News-Letter.  Numb.  390. 
From  Monday  October  1,  to  Monday  October  8,1711. 

Boston.  On  Tuesday  the  second  of  October,  about  eight  a  Clock 
in  the  Evening,  a  Fire  broke  out  in  an  old  Tenement  within  a 
back  Yard  in  Cornhill,  near  to  the  First  Meeting-House,  occa- 
sioned by  the  carelesness  of  a  poor  Sottish  Woman  by  using  Fire 
to  a  parcel  of  Ocum,  Chips  and  other  combustible  Rubbish,  which 
soon  raised  a  great  Flame,  and  being  a  time  of  great  drought, 
and  the  Buildings  very  dry,  the  Flames  took  hold  of  the  Neigh- 
bouring Houses,  which  were  high  and  contiguous  in  that  part, 
notwithstanding  all  application  and  diligence  to  extinguish  and 
prevent  the  spreading  thereof  by  throwing  of  Water,  and  blow- 
ing up  of  Houses.  The  Fire  made  its  progress  throughout  Corn- 
hill  on  both  sides  of  the  Street,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  upper 
parts  of  King  and  Queens-street;  the  Town-House  and  the  Meet- 
ing-House, with  many  fair  Buildings  were  Consumed,  and  several 
persons  kilFd  and  burn'd. 

Some  Gentlemen  took  care  to  preserve  Her  Majesties  Picture 
that  was  in  the  Town-House. 

Sewall  notes  the  fire  as  follows : 

[  206  ] 


Burnings 

BEWAILED: 

SERMON, 

Occalioned  by  the 

Lamentable  FIRE 

Which  was  in  BOSTON,  O&ob.  2. 
1    7    1    1  . 

In  which  the  Sins  which  Pro- 
voke the  LORD  to  Kindle 
$fiTt8,  are  Enquired  into. 

By  increase  S^afytx,  d.d. 

Pfal.  LXXVIII.  21.  The  Lord  heard  this,  and 
was  Wroth:  So  a  Fire  was  Kindled  against 
Jacob  ;  and  Anger  alfo  came  up  againft  Ifrael. 

Luke  XIII.  4,  5.  Thofe  Eighteen  upon  whom  the 
Tower  of  Siloam  fell,  &  few  them,  think  you 
that  they  were  Sinners  above  all  men  that  dwelt 
in  Jerufalem?  /  tell  you,  Nay,  but  except  you 
Repent,  you  Jball  all  likewise  Perijb. 

Bojlon  Printed:  Sold  by  Timothy  Green,  171 1. 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

7r.  18th.  Third-day,  set  out  for  Boston;  Baited  at  Dedham.  Re- 
fresh'd  our  seWs  at  Mr.  Belcher's:  Got  well  home  a  little  after 
Diner  time:  we  recreated  our  selves  with  Mr.  Watt's  Poems,  go- 
ing and  coming.  Laus  Deo  Servatori.  About  7  or  8  aclock  of  the 
night  between  the  2d  and  3d  of  October,  a  Dreadfull  Fire  hapens 
in  Boston; broke  out  in  a  little  House  belonging  to  Capt.Ephraim 
Savage,  by  reason  of  the  Drunkenness  of Moss ;  Old  Meet- 
ing House,  and  Town-House  burnt.  Old  Meeting-house  had  stood 
near  70.  years.  I  had  a  house  burnt,  wherein  Mr.  Seth  Dwight 
was  Tenant,  who  paid  me  Twenty  pounds  per  anum.  Oct.  8.  The 
Lt.  Govr.  Taylor  arrives.  He  saw  the  Fire  20  Leagues  off. 

Octobr.  11.  Fifth-day,  Fast.  A  Collection  was  made  for  sufferers 
by  the  Fire;  Two  Hundred  Sixty  odd  pounds  gathered  at  the 
South  church,  the  oldest  Meetinghouse  in  Town. 

The  ministers  immediately  improved  the  occasion 
by  sermons  and  moral  admonitions.  The  sermons  not 
only  give  information  as  to  the  fire,  but  are  interesting 
side-lights  upon  the  times. 

Increase  Mather  preached  a  sermon  in  the  North 
Church,  which  was  printed  with  the  title-page  shown 
on  the  facing  page. 

In  this  sermon,  copies  of  which  are  now  very  rare, 

Mather  discoursed  upon  many  things  connected  with 

fires,  with  all  the  abundance  of  Scriptural  quotation 

which  he  so  much  affected.  Among  other  things  he  said : 

Desolating  Fires  are  an  awful  Judgment,  but  of  the  Lords 
kindling.  When  the  Children  of  Ifrael  were  encamped  in  the 
Wildernefs,  the  Fire  of  the  Lord  burft  among  them,  and  confumed 
them  that  were  in  the  utmojt  parts  of  the  Camp ;  Mofes  called  the 
name  of  that  place  Taberah,  (which  fignifies  Burning,)  becaufe 
the  Fire  of  the  Lord  burnt  among  them. 

He  referred  to  fires  in  various  towns  in  England, 
and  especially  to  the  great  fire  in  London  on  Septem- 
ber 2,  1666,  and  then  passed  in  review  all  the  previous 

[  207  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

great  fires  in  Boston.  Speaking  of  the  fire  he  said : 

It  is  in  refpect  of  fome  Circumftances  attending  it,  the  moft 
Awful  Stroke  from  God  that  ever  came  upon  Bofton,  or  upon 
New-England.  Many  Houfes  are  in  Afhes;  and  more  than  an 
Hundred  Families  Burnt  out  of  Doors.  An  Houfe  fet  apart  for 
Solemnizing  the  Worfhip  of  God,  is  laid  in  Ruines.  ...  In  this 
difmal  Night  the  Town-Houfe  alfo,  in  which  our  General  Af- 
femblies,  Councils,  and  Courts  of  Judicature  were  wont  to  Meet, 
and  in  which  Two  Synods  have  Sat,  was  Confumed  with  the  Fire; 
and  in  that  there  is  an  Awful  Voice  from  Heaven  fpeaking  to  the 
whole  Province.  .  .  .  There  is  another  Particular  which  makes  a 
peculiar  Accent  of  Sorrow  in  this  Burning,  viz.  That  many  Lives 
have  been  Tragically  Loft ;  the  like  (as  to  Number)  has  not  been 
in  former  Fires  amongft  us.  We  know  not  how  many  there  are 
who  have  thus  Perifhed.  Tis  fuppofed  Eight  Perfons  at  leaft, 
fome  think  many  more. 

But,  he  said: 

We  have  caufe  to  Sing  of  Mercy,  as  well  as  to  Lament  under 
Judgment:  Sparing  Mercy  in  that  the  Town  has  ftood  fo  long: 
It  is  almoft  a  Miracle,  that  fuch  a  Timber  Town  has  ftood  for  fo 
many  years,  confidering  how  many  prodigious  Sinners  there  are, 
who  rejoyce  at  fuch  Calamities,  hoping  for  an  opportunity  to 
Steal  their  Neighbours  Goods :  And  how  many  carelefs  Servants, 
and  how  many  Drunken  Wretches  there  are  in  the  Town:  The 
Fire  we  now  Bewail  this  day,  is  fuppofed  to  be  occafioned  by  a 
wicked  drunken  Woman.  And  let  thofe  who  have  their  Houfes 
taken  from  them,  be  Thankful  that  it  was  not  done  fooner. 

He  preached  against  the  sins  of  the  people  of  Bos- 
ton, especially  against  extravagance  in  dress,  saying: 

The  Word  of  God  allows  thofe  who  are  Men  of  Eftates  and  fuch 
as  are  in  Place  and  Dignity  above  others,  to  be  diftinguifhed  by 
the  Coftlinefs  of  their  Apparrel.  If  they  who  are  in  Kings  Houfes 
are  Cloathcd  in  f oft  raiment,  if  they  wear  Silk,  and  Sattens,  and 
Velvet,  and  Purple  and  Silver  and  Gold,  there  is  no  offence  to 
Heaven  in  it;  but  for  Poor  People  to  do  fo,  is  infufferable  Pride. 

[  208  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

He  then  preached  particularly  against  the  wearing 
of  wigs,  saying: 

I  doubt  not  but  that  a  man  who  has  lost  his  Hair  by  Sicknefs 
or  by  Age,  or  if  his  Health  require  it,  may  as  lawfully  make  ufe 
of  a  modeft  Wig  or  Border,  as  of  a  Cap,  or  Hat.  I  never  said  or 
thought  otherwife;  but  I  have  faid,  &  do  fay,  That  fuch  Mon- 
strous Periwigs,  as  fome ;  Nay,  as  fome  Church-Members  indulge 
themfelves  in  the  wearing  of,  which  make  them  refemble  the  Lo- 
cufts  that  come  out  of  the  bottomlefs  Pit ;  whofe  Faces  were  as 
the  Faces  of  Men,  <$•  they  had  Hair  as  the  Hair  of  Women, 
Rev.  9.  7,  8.  are  a  Badge  of  Pride,  and  (as  an  Eminent  Divine  calls 
them)  Horrid  Bufhes  of  Vanity ;  and  that  fuch  Strange  apparel 
is  contrary  to  the  light  of  Nature,  and  to  Exprefs  Scripture. 

But  are  not  many  among  us  guilty  of  this  (as  well  as  of  other 
forts  of)  Pride  ?  And  they  regard  neither  God  nor  man  that  tef- 
tifies  againft  them.  And  none  more  guilty  than  the  poorer  and 
meaner  fort  of  people  all  the  Country  over.  They  will  go  above 
their  Quality,  above  their  Parentage  &  above  their  Estates.  When 
they  have  fcarce  Bread  to  eat,  yet  they  will  be  fine  and  fafhion- 
able,  and  appear  in  their  Silks  and  Braveries,  as  if  they  were  the 
beft  in  the  Land.  I  declare  unto  you,  that  fuch  Pride  is  enough 
to  provoke  the  Lord  to  kindle  Fires  in  all  the  Towns  in  the  Coun- 
try, where  this  Iniquity  does  abound. 

Then  he  said: 

Has  not  God's  Holy  Day  been  Prophaned  in  New-England  ? 
Has  it  not  been  fo  in  Boston  this  Laft  Summer,  more  than  ever 
fince  there  was  a  Chriftian  here  ?  Have  not  Burdens  been  carried 
thro'  the  Streets  on  the  Sabbath  Day  ?  Have  not  Bakers,  Carpen- 
ters and  other  Tradefmen  been  employed  in  Servile  Works,  on  the 
Sabbath  Day?  When  I  faw  this . . .  my  Heart  faid,  Will  not  the 
Lord  for  this  Kindle  a  Fire  in  Boston? 

When  men  pretend  to  Serve  God,  and  yet  Serve  Mammon 
with  their  whole  Hearts,  the  Lord  either  by  Water  or  Fire  takes 
away  their  Mammon.  When  the  World  is  become  an  Idol,  He 
cafts  it  into  the  Fire.  When  an  Houfe  &  Furniture  is  Idolized,  by 
Men  or  Women,  the  Jealoufy  of  God  Kindles  a  Fire  on  it.  Re- 

[  2°9  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

member  Lot's  Wife:  Her  heart  was  Idolatroufly  fet  upon  what  fhe 
had  in  Sodom;  and  you  know  what  befel  her.  Yea,  remember  Lot 
himfelf :  Notwithftanding  he  was  a  Righteous  man,  the  World 
had  too  much  of  his  Heart.  And  did  not  God  Fire  him  out  of  all 
his  Eftate  ?  Now  then  fay,  Is  not  this  Sin  found  in  New-England  ? 
And  is  it  not  attended  with  much  Sacriledge?  Thro'  out  the 
whole  Land,  men  with-hold  from  God  more  than  is  meet;  and  it 
tends  to  Poverty.  Ah!  New-England,  what  Lamentation  fhall  I 
take  up  for  thee  ?  Thou  hast  changed  thy  Intereft.  Thy  Intereft 
was  Pure  Religion;  which  is  more  than  can  be  faid  of  any  other 
Plantation  in  the  whole  World.  Our  Fathers  came  not  into  this 
Land  to  get  Eftates,  but  to  Build  Houfes  for  God,  &  fet  up  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  Spiritual  Glory  of  it,  where  His 
Name  had  not  been  known.  They  went  after  Him  in  the  Wilder- 
nefs,  in  a  Land  that  was  not  Sowen :  They  fought  the  Kingdom 
of  God  &  His  Righteoufnefs  in  the  Firft  place;  and  He  was 
pleafed  to  add  other  things  to  them,  beyond  their  Expectation. 
But  how  is  it  at  this  Day  ?  Men  do  not  now  come  to  New-Eng- 
land for  the  fake  of  Religion;  but  of  the  World,  to  get  Riches 
if  they  can. 

In  conclusion  he  said,  with  a  mixture  of  piety  and 

prudence : 

We  ought  to  be  affected  with  the  Mercy  of  God  in  that  the 
whole  Town  was  not  confumed.  If  the  Wind  (which  the  Lord 
holds  in  His  fift)  had  then  been  fo  high  as  fince  that  fatal  night 
it  has  been,  few  Houfes  would  have  been  left  ftanding  in  Bqfton. 
We  in  this  North-End  of  the  Town,  have  great  caufe  to  acknow- 
ledge the  Mercy  of  God  in  fparing  us  at  this  time:  For  indeed 
we  were  in  eminent  danger,  flakes  of  fire  falling  upon  the  Houfes 
hereabouts,  &  but  few  of  the  Dwellers  in  this  part  of  the  Town 
remained  in  their  Houfes  to  fecure  them,  in  cafe  any  of  them 
fhould  have  taken  fire;  from  which  a  gracious  Providence,  (but 
not  our  Prudence)  has  preferved  them.  Let  me  advifeyou,  if  ever 
the  like  occafion  fhould  happen,  (which  Mercy  forbid)  not  to 
leave  your  own  Habitations,  without  a  fufficient  Number  to  de- 
fend them. 

[  210  ] 


Advice  from    TABE%AH. 

ASERMON 

Preached 
After  the  Terrible 

FIRE, 

Which,    (attended   with    Some    very 

Lamentable  and   Memorable  cir- 

cumftances,On  051.  2,  3.  171 1.) 

Laid  a  Confiderable  Part  of  BOSTON, 

in  Afhes. 
Directing   a   Pious   Improvement   of 
Every   Calamity,   but   more   Efpe- 
cially  of  fo  Calamitous  a  Defolation. 

TBp   COTTON    MATHER,   £).D. 

Numb.  XI.  3. 

And  he  called  the  Name  of  the  Place  TABERAH 

becaufe  the  Fire  of  the  Lord  burnt  among  them. 

BOSTON  in  N.  E.  Printed  by  B.  Green; 
Sold  by  Samuel  Gerrijby  at  his  Shop  at  the 
Sign  of  the  Buck  over  againft  the  South 
Meeting-Houfe.      1  7  1  1  . 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

Cotton  Mather  also  preached  a  sermon  in  the  South 
Meeting-house,  which  was  printed,  and  but  few  copies 
of  which  still  remain.  The  title-page  is  here  reproduced. 
The  sermon  was  preceded  by  the  following  statement 
as  to  the  cause  and  extent  of  the  fire : 

The  Occasion. 

Beginning  about  Seven  a  Clock  in  the  Evening,  and  Finishing 
before  Two  in  the  Morning,  the  Night  between  the  Second  and 
Third  of  October,  1711.  A  terrible  Fire  Laid  the  Heart  of  Bos- 
ton, the  Metropolis  of  the  New- English  America,  in  Ashes.  The 
Occasion  of  the  Fire,  is  said  to  have  been,  by  the  Carelessness  and 
Sottishness,  of  a  Woman,  who  Suffered  a  Flame  which  took  the 
Okum,  the  Picking  whereof  was  her  Business,  to  gain  too  far,  be- 
fore it  could  be  mastered.  It  was  not  long  before  it  reduced  Corn- 
hill  into  miserable  Ruines,  and  it  made  its  impressions  into  King- 
Street,  and  Queen-Street,  and  a  great  Part  of  Pudding-Lane  was 
also  Lost,  before  the  Violence  of  it  could  be  Conquered.  Among 
these  Ruines,  there  were  Two  Spacious  Edifices,  which  until  now, 
made  a  most  Considerable  Figure,  because  of  the  Publick  Rela- 
tion to  our  greatest  Solemnities,  in  which  they  had  stood  from 
the  Dayes  of  our  Fathers.  The  One  was,  the  Town-House  :  the 
Other,  the  Old  Meeting-House.  The  Number  of  Houses,  and 
Some  of  them  very  Capacious  Buildings,  which  went  into  the  Fire, 
with  these,  is  computed  near  about  an  hundred,  and  the  Fami- 
lies which  inhabited  these  Houses,  cannot  but  be  very  many  more. 
It  being  also  a  Place  of  much  Trade,  and  fill'd  with  well-furnished 
Shops  of  Goods,  not  a  little  of  the  Wealth  of  the  Town  was  now 
consumed.  But  that  which  very  much  added  unto  the  Horror  of 
the  Dismal  Night,  was  the  Tragical  Death  of  many  Poor  Men, 
who  were  killed,  by  the  Blowing  up  of  Houses;  or  by  Venturing 
too  far  into  the  Fire,  for  the  Rescue  of  what  its  fierce  Jaws  was 
ready  to  Prey  upon.  Of  these,  the  Bones  of  Seven  or  Eight  are 
thought  to  be  found ;  and  it  is  feared,  there  may  be  some  Stran- 
gers, belonging  to  Vessels,  besides  these,  thus  buried,  of  whose 
unhappy  circumstances  we  are  not  yet  apprised :  And  others  have 
since  died  of  their  Wounds. 

[211  ] 


The  Story  of  the 

Thus  the  Town  of  Boston,  just  going  to  get  beyond  Fourscore 
years  of  Age,  and  conflicting  with  much  Labour  and  Sorrow,  is, 
a  very  Vital  and  Valuable  part  of  it,  Soon  Cut  off  and  flown 
away! 

And  yet  in  the  midst  of  these  Lamentations  we  may  say;  Tis 
of  the  Lords  Mercies,  that  we  are  not  Consumed.  Had  not  the 
Glorious  Lord  who  has  gathered  the  Wind  in  His  Hands,  Merci- 
fully kept  under  the  Wind  at  this  Time,  He  alone  knows  how, 
much  more  of  the  Town  must  have  been  Consumed ! 

A  Great  Auditory  of  the  Inhabitants,  with  many  from  the 
Neighbouring  Towns,  coming  together,  on  the  Ensuing  Thurs- 
day, that  they  might  hear  the  Instructions  of  Piety,  which  might 
suit  the  present  &  grievous  Occasion :  One  of  the  Ministers,  who 
is  also  a  Native,  of  the  Town,  entertained  them  with  the  Ensuing 
Sermon,  which  is  now  by  the  way  of  the  Press,  made  a  more  Dur- 
able and  a  more  Diffusive  Memorial,  of  a  Divine  Dispensation, 
which  may  not  quickly  be  Forgotten. 

No  part  of  the  structure  of  the  Boston  Town  House 
now  exists,  no  certain  trace  of  its  physical  existence 
can  be  found,  and  only  the  mutilated  walls  of  its  suc- 
cessor— the  Old  State  House — now  stand  as  a  part 
of  the  present  edifice.  The  rude  buildings  in  which  the 
early  Puritans  lived  and  laboured  about  the  Town 
House  have  all  disappeared,  and  the  conditions  of  life 
which  existed  about  the  building  while  it  stood  are  all 
absolutely  changed.  The  electric  railway  and  the  motor 
car  have  displaced  the  whipping-post  and  the  stocks, 
and  the  quiet  streets  and  places  where  Winthrop  walked, 
and  Mather  talked,  and  Sewall  gossiped,  are  filled  with 
the  throng  and  flow  of  commerce  and  of  trade. 

Of  all  that  was  material  in  the  life  of  the  Town  House 
nothing  now  remains ;  but  the  results  of  what  was  done 
in  and  about  the  Town  House  remain.  The  government 

[  212  ] 


Old  Boston  Town  House 

which  the  Puritans  there  created  remains.  The  essen- 
tial, fundamental  principles  of  New  England  state  gov- 
ernment, as  they  now  exist,  were  established  and  put  in 
operation  by  the  Puritans  in  the  Boston  Town  House. 
Representative  government  by  two  legislative  bodies, 
each  a  check  upon  the  other,  sound  judicial  power  to 
interpret  the  law  and  determine  rights  under  the  law, 
and  executive  power  effective  to  administer  and  exe- 
cute the  law,  with  a  reasonable  check  upon  hasty  or 
ill-advised  legislation,  a  system  of  government  in  which 
the  powers  of  the  people  are  so  carefully  distributed 
and  balanced  that  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness"  are  made  secure  and  the  people  protected 
against  tyranny  even  by  themselves, — all  now  exist  as 
the  result  of  what  was  done  in  and  about  the  Boston 
Town  House  during  the  fifty  years  of  its  existence. 
When  the  Constitution  of  1780  was  established  by  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  they  only  declared  by  its  Bill 
of  Rights,  and  established  by  its  provisions,  the  funda- 
mental principles  and  methods  of  government  which 
had  been  wrought  out  and  established  by  the  early 
Puritan  settlers  in  the  Boston  Town  House  and  in  the 
Town  of  Boston  and  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

This  government  has  been  permanent  only  because 
it  is  based  upon  moral  principles,  and  the  lesson  which 
the  story  of  the  Boston  Town  House  teaches  is  that 
while  material  things  pass  away,  moral  and  spiritual 
things  remain,  and  that  only  that  righteousness  which 
exalteth  a  nation  is  the  safety  and  security  of  a  sound 
and  enduring  state. 


Appendix 


Appendix 

THE  following  is  a  partial  statement  of  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  orders  of  the  Colony  Courts, 
made  from  the  "  Massachusetts  Colony  Records,"  com- 
piled by  Nathaniel  B.  Shurtleff,  and  printed  by  order  of 
the  Legislature  in  1853,  and  from  the  "Records  of  the 
Court  of  Assistants,"  compiled  by  John  Noble,  Clerk 
of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  for  Suffolk  County,  and 
printed  by  that  county  in  1903. 

These  records,  however,  are  not  complete,  and  the 
statement  is  therefore  partial  and  illustrative  only  of 
the  kind  of  punishments  inflicted  by  those  courts. 

1630 

It  is  ordered,  that  Beniamyn  Cribb,  John  Cable,  &  Morris  Tro- 
went  shalbe  whipped  for  stealeing  3  piggs  of  Mr  Ralfe  Glouers./ 

It  is  ordered,  that  Philip  Ratliffe  shalbe  whipped,  haue  his 
eares  cutt  of,  fyned  40  \  &  banished  out  of  ye  lymitts  of  this  ju- 
risdiction, for  vttering  mallitious  &  scandulous  speeches  against 
the  goumt  &  the  church  of  Salem,  ec,  as  appeareth  by  a  pticulr 
thereof,  pued  vpon  oath./ 

It  is  ordered,  that  Philip  Swaddon  shalbe  whipped  for  runing 
away  from  his  maister,  Robt  Seely,  intending  to  goe  to  Virginia. 

It  is  ordered,  that  Henry  Lyn  shalbe  whipped  and  banished  the 
plantacon  before  the  6th  day  of  Octobr  nexte  for  writeing  into 
England  falsely  &  mallitiously  against  the  goumt  &  execucon  of 
justice  here./ 

1632 

Tho :  Knower  was  sett  in  the  bilbo wes  for  threateing  the  Court 
that,  if  hee  should  be  punist,  hee  would  haue  it  tryed  in  Eng- 
land whither  hee  was  lawfully  punished  or  not./ 

It  is  ordered,  that  Nicholas  Frost,  for  thefte,  drunkenes  and 
fornicacon,  shalbe  fined,  seuerely  whiptt  &  branded  in  the  hand 


Appendix 

with  a  hott  iron,  &  after  banished  out  of  this  pattent,  with  pen- 
alty that  if  euer  hee  be  found  within  the  lymitts  of  the  said 
pattent,  hee  shalbe  putt  to  death;  also  it  is  agreed  that  hee  shalbe 
kept  in  boults,  till  his  ffines  be  paid,  dureing  wch  time  hee  is  to 
beare  his  owne  charges./ 

1633 
John  Say les,  being  convicted  of  taking  corn,  fish  and  clapboards 
from  divers  persons,  is  thus  censured  by  Court :  All  his  estate  shall 
be  forfeited,  double  restitution  made  to  those  he  has  wronged,  he 
shall  be  whipped  and  bound  as  a  servant  to  any  who  will  retain 
him  for  three  years,  afterwards  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  Court. 

1633 

It  is  ordered,  that  William  Dixon  be  set  in  the  bilbowes  for 
disordering  himself  with  drink. 

Whereas  Beniamyn  Felton  hath  brought  into  this  Country  one 
Robte  Scarlett  a  knowen  theife,  whoe  since  his  comeing  hither 
hath  cofhitted  dyvers  fellonyes  as  appeareth  by  his  examinacon, 
It  is  therefore  ordered  that  the  said  Scarlett  shalbe  seuerely 
whipt  &  branded  in  the  forehead  with  a  T  &  after  sent  to  his  said 
maister  whome  the  Court  enioynes  to  send  the  said  Scarlett  out 
of  this  Jurisdiccon,  &  in  the  meane  tyme  to  be  lyeable  to  satisfie 
for  such  damages,  as  his  said  serv*  shall  doe  to  any  pson,  &  also 
shall  pay  xs  to  Mr.  Stileman  the  Constable  for  his  charges  in 
keepeing  him  &  bringing  of  him  to  the  Court./ 

1636 

Thorn :  Pettet  for  suspition  of  slaunder,  idlenes,&  stubbornenes, 
is  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped,  &  to  bee  kept  in  hould./ 

Alexander  Waites  ordered  to  be  whipped  for  selling  powder  to 
the  Indians./ 

Peter  Bussaker  censured  for  drunkennes  to  bee  whiped,  &  to 
have  twenty  stripes  sharply  inflicted,  &  fined  51  for  sleiteing  the 
magistrates  &c./ 

Edward  Woodley,  for  attempting  a  rape,  swearing  &  breaking 
into  a  house,  censured  to  be  given  30  stripes,  a  yeares  imprison- 

[4«] 


Appendix 

ment  at  hard  labor,  with  course  dyot  and  to  wear  a  coller  of  yron. 
Elisabeth  Applegate  censured  to  stand  with  her  tongue  in  a 
cleft  stick  for  swearing,  raileing  and  revileing./ 

1637 

William  Brumfeild  for  stealeing,  ploting  to  run  from  his  mr, 
lying,  drunkennes  &  idlenes,  was  censured  to  make  double  resti- 
tution, bee  branded  &  severely  whiped./ 

George  Spencer  for  receiving  6shs  from  Brumfeild,  censured  to 
make  double  restitution  &  bee  whiped./ 

George  Barlow  for  his  idlenes,  censured  to  be  whiped./ 

Luke  Henberry  for  theft  and  running  away,  was  censured  to  be 
severely  whipped./ 

John  Hathaway,  Robert  Allen  &  Margaret  Seale,  for  adultery, 
ordered  to  be  severely  whipped  and  banished,  never  to  return  on 
penalty  of  death./ 

John  Davies  for  grosse  offences  in  attempting  lewdness  wth  di- 
vers woemen,  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped,  both  heare  & 
at  Ipswich,  &  to  weare  the  letter  V  vpon  his  breast  vpon  his 
vppermost  garment  vntill  the  Court  do  discharge  him./ 

Edward  Palmer  for  his  extortion,  takeing  l1  13s  7d  for  the 
plank  &  woodwork  of  Boston  stocks,  is  fined  51,  &  censured  to 
bee  set  an  houre  in  the  stocks.  This  was  remitted  to  10  s./ 

Thomas  Gray  to  be  severely  whipped  and  banished./ 

Katherine  Finch  for  speaking  against  the  magistrates,  churches 
and  elders,  censured  to  be  whiped  and  comited  till  the  Generall 
Court;  William  South  whipped  and  banished./ 

John  Neale  for  runing  away  &  stealing,  was  censured  to  bee  se- 
verely whiped,  &  comitted  to  his  master  to  bee  kept  chained./ 

John  Kempe  for  immorality,  censured  to  be  whipped  both 
heare,  at  Roxberry,  &  at  Salem,  and  comitted  for  a  slave  to  Lieft. 
Davenport./ 

Mathewe  Edwards  for  improper  conduct,  censured  to  be 
whipped./ 

John  Haslewood  for  theft  and  house-breaking,  censured  to  be 

[5*] 


Appendix 

severely  whiped  and  delivered  vp  a  slave  to  whom  the  Court 
shall  appoint./ 

William  Androws  for  assault  upon  his  master,  Henry  Coggan, 
and  conspiring  against  his  life,  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped 
&  delivered  vp  a  slave  to  whom  the  Court  shall  appoint./ 

Gyles  Player  for  theft  and  housebreaking;  censured  to  bee 
severely  whiped  and  delivered  up  for  a  slave  to  whom  the  Court 
shall  appoint./ 

John  Bickerstaffe  and  Ales  Burwoode  censured  to  be  whiped 
for  comitting  fornication./ 

William  Clarke  censured  to  be  severely  whiped,  comited  to 
prison  till  the  ship  returne,  and  then  to  bee  sent  home,  for  thefts. 

Anthony  Robinson  for  fornication,  censured  to  have  20  stripes 
sharply  layed  on,  enioyned  to  appeare  at  the  next  Quarter  Courte, 
&  the  meane  while  to  bee  of  good  behavior. 

1639 

Richrd  Joanes  for  his  cheating,  was  censured  to  bee  whiped,  & 
put  to  the  assigne  of  the  party  wronged,  to  make  satisfaction  for 
the  money  wch  hee  did  receive,  &  hath  spent./ 

Jane  Robinson  for  disorder  in  her  house,  drunkennes,  &  light 
behavior,  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped./ 

Margeret  Hindersam  was  censured  to  stand  in  the  market  place 
wth  a  paper  the  next  market  day,  for  her  ill  behavior,  &  her  hus- 
band was  bound  in  51  for  her  good  behavior,  &  to  bring  her  to 
the  market  place  at  the  time  appointed  for  her  to  stand  there./ 

Thomas  Dickerson  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped,  &  con- 
demned to  slavery./ 

Robert  Penyar,  for  his  vnclean  attempt,  &  his  flying  when  hee 
should  have  appeared,  was  censured  to  bee  whiped./ 

1640 
James  Luxford  for  his  forgery,  lying,  &  other  foule  offences,  was 
censured  to  bee  bound  to  the  whiping  poast,  till  the  lecture  from 
the  first  bell,  &  after  the  lecture  to  have  his  eares  cut  of;  &  so  hee 
had  liberty  to  depart  out  of  or  iurisdiction. 

[6*] 


Appendix 

Hope,  the  Indian,  was  censured  for  her  runing  away,  &  other 
misdemeano1",  to  bee  whiped  hear  &  at  Marbleheade./ 

Jonathan  Hatch  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped,  &  for  the 
psent  is  comited  for  a  slave  to  Lieft.  Davenport./ 

John  Burrows  for  going  into  other  mens  houses  in  the  night 
&  upon  the  Lords  day  in  the  time  of  exercise,  was  censured  to  bee 
whiped./ 

John  Knight  for  his  drunkennes,  swearing,  &  other  disorder, 
was  censured  to  bee  whiped./ 

John  Dutton  for  swearing,  stealing,  &  drunkennes,  was  cen- 
sured to  bee  severely  whiped./ 

The  iury  found  Hugh  Buets  to  bee  gilty  of  heresy,  &  that  his 
person  &  errors  are  dangeros  for  infection  of  others.  It  was  or- 
dered, that  the  said  Hugh  Buet  should  bee  gone  out  of  or  iuris- 
diction  by  the  24th  psent,  upon  paine  of  death,  &  not  to  returne, 
upon  paine  of  being  hanged./ 

1641 
Richrd  Wilson  for  his  grosse  abuse  of  his  mr,  Thom :  Chees- 
holme,  in  base  revileing  speaches,  &  refusing  to  obey  his  lawfull 
commaunds,  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped./ 

1641 

James  Laurence  for  goeing  out  of  his  mr  his  house  in  the  night 
unseasonable^  ag*  his  expsse  order,  was  censured  to  bee  sharply 
whiped./ 

William  Pilsberry  for  defileing  his  mr  his  house,  was  censured 
to  bee  whiped./ 

Dorothy  Pilsberry  was  censured  to  bee  whiped  for  her  un- 
cleannes,  and  defileing  her  mr  his  house./ 

Mary  Osborne  for  her  grosse  miscarriage  in  giveing  her  hus- 
band quick  silver,  &  other  abuses,  was  censured  to  bee  severely 
whiped./ 

Thomas  Owen  for  escaping  out  of  prison,  was  fined  20 l,  to 
bee  paid  wthin  a  weeke,  or  to  bee  severely  whiped./ 

Sara  Hales  for  escaping,  to  pay  13 J1,  or  be  whiped  &  banished./ 

[7*] 


Appendix 

John  Mussell  for  attempting  to  abuse  a  boy,  was  censured  to 
bee  whiped./ 

The  wife  of  Robrt  Lewes  for  her  dishonoring  the  name  of  god 
was  censured  to  bee  whiped. 

Davy  Hickbourne  for  his  grosse  misdemeanor,  &  foule  miscar- 
riage was  censured  to  bee  severely  whiped,  to  weare  an  iron  coller 
till  the  cort  please,  &  serve  his  mr  3  weekes  longer  for  lost  time, 
&  trouble  of  his  mr. 

1642 

Peter  Thatcher  for  plotting  Piracy  was  comitted,  &to  beewhipt ; 
Matthew  Collaine,  Robert  Allen,  &  Marmaduke  Barton,  were 
whipped  for  concealing  the  plot  of  Piracy. 

James  Hawkins  for  prophaining  the  Sabbath  hee  was  censured 
to  bee  whipt,  &  bound  with  his  Brother  Thomas  Hawkins  in  40 lb. 
to  appeare  at  the  Generall  Cort,  and  answer  for  venting  his  cor- 
rupt Opinions,  &  to  bee  of  good  behavior  till  then. 

Elizabeth  Sedgwicke  for  hir  many  theftes,  &  lyes,  was  censured 
to  bee  severely  whipt,  &  condemned  to  slavery,  till  shee  have  re- 
compenced  double  for  all  hir  thefts. 

T(eagu)  Ocrimi  was  censured  to  bee  carried  to  the  place  of  ex- 
ecution, &  there  to  stand  with  an  halter  about  his  necke,  &  to 
bee  severely  whipped. 

Robert  Wyar,  &  John  Garland  beeing  indited  for  ravishing 
two  yong  girles,  the  Jury  found  them,  not  guilty  of  that  offence, 
but  the  Cort  judged  the  boyes  to  bee  openly  whipped  at  Boston, 
the  next  market  day,  &  againe  to  bee  whipped  at  Cambridge  on 
the  Lecture  day,  &  each  of  them  to  pay  5 lb  a  peece  to  their  mas- 
ter in  service.  It  was  also  judged  that  the  two  girls  Sarah  Wythes, 
&  Ursula  Odle  bee  severely  whipped  at  Cambridge  in  the  prsence 
of  the  Secretary. 

Marmaduke  Barton  condemned  to  slavery,  &  to  bee  branded,  & 
to  remaine  in  slavery  till  the  Cort  take  further  order  about  him./ 

Thorn:  Wendall  for  abuseing  a  girle,  was  censured  to  bee 
whiped  both  heare  &  at  Ipswich. 

Thomas  Briant  for  concealing  Thatchers  Plott,  &  consenting 
to  it,  was  censured  to  bee  severely  whipped. 

[8*] 


Appendix 

John  Woodcooke  for  his  many  miscarriages  was  censured  to 
bee  whipped. 

Sarah  Bell  for  hir  theft,  stealing  money  from  hir  master,  cen- 
sured to  bee  whipped,  except  shee  behave  hir  selfe  well  betwixt 
this,  &  the  next  Cort,  &  soe  as  the  Cort  see  cause  to  remit  it. 

Daniell  Fairefeild  was  found  guilty  upon  his  own  confession  of 
having  had  carnal  knowledge  of  a  child  of  tender  years,  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  Humfrey,  one  of  the  magistrates,  and  the  Cort 
therefore  agreed  that  this  aforenamed  Dan:  Fairefeild  shalbee 
severely  whiped  at  Boston  the  next  lecture  day,  &  have  one  of  his 
nostrills  slit  so  high  as  may  well  bee,  &  then  to  bee  seared,  &  kept 
in  prison,  till  hee  bee  fit  to  bee  sent  to  Salem,  &  then  to  bee 
whiped  againe,  &  have  the  other  nostrill  slit  &  seared ;  then  fur- 
ther hee  is  confined  to  Boston  neck,  so  as  if  hee  bee  found  at  any 
time  dureing  his  life  to  go  out  of  Boston  neck,  that  is,  beyond 
the  railes  toward  Roxberry,  or  beyond  the  low  water  marke,  hee 
shalbee  put  to  death  upon  due  conviction  thereof;  and  hee  is  also 
to  weare  an  hempen  roape  about  his  neck,  the  end  of  it  hanging 
out  two  foote  at  least,  &  so  often  as  he  shalbe  found  abroad  wth- 
out  it,  hee  shalbee  whiped;  &  if  hee  shall  at  any  time  hearafter 
attempt  to  abuse  any  pson  as  formerly,  hee  shall  be  put  to  death, 
upon  due  conviction  ;&  hee  is  to  pay  to  Mr  Humfrey  forty  pounds. 

Jenken  Davies,  for  the  same  offence,  ordered  to  bee  severely 
whiped  at  Boston  on  a  lecture  day,  returned  to  prison  till  hee 
may  bee  sent  to  Linne,  there  to  bee  severely  whiped  also,  &  to  be 
confined  to  the  towne  of  Linne;  if  hee  shall  go  out  of  the  bounds 
of  the  towne,  wthout  license  of  Cort  hee  shalbee  put  to  death ;  & 
also  to  weare  a  hempen  roape  about  his  neck  dureing  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Cort,  and  to  bee  whiped  if  found  wthout  it.  If  con- 
victed of  a  similar  attempt  upon  any  child  to  be  put  to  death. 
Also  to  pay  forty  pounds  to  Mr.  Humfrey. 

John  Hudson  for  the  same  offence  ordered  to  bee  severely  whiped 
at  Boston  the  next  lecture  day,  returned  to  prison  till  sent  to 
Salem,  there  to  bee  severely  whiped  againe,  and  to  pay  Mr.  Hum- 
frey twenty  pounds  wthin  two  yeares. 

Davyd  Conway,  servant  to  Wm  Beamsley,  for  resisting  his  mas- 
ter, was  censured  to  be  whipped. 

[9*] 


Appendix 

William  Browne  for  running  away,  deriding  an  Ordinance  of 
God,  refusing  to  give  account  what  hee  had  learned,  &  refusing 
to  obey  his  master,  was  censured  to  be  severely  whipped. 

Richard  Quick  for  beeing  distempered  by  drinking  wine,  &  for 
his  idlenes,  stubbornes,  &  dalliance,  was  censured  to  bee  whipped. 

John  Perry  for  running  away  was  censured  to  bee  whipped. 

John  Lewis  for  running  away,  and  breaking  an  house,  was  cen- 
sured to  bee  whipped,  &  sent  home  to  his  Master. 

William  Walcot  was  censured  to  bee  whipped,  &  kept  in  Prison, 
till  further  Order,  for  his  idlenesse,  &  abuse  of  his  friends. 

Anne  Hett  for  attempting  to  drowne  hir  child  was  censured 
to  bee  whipped,  and  kept  to  hard  labor  &  spare  diet. 

Thomas  Cotcree  was  censured  to  bee  severly  whipped,  for  his 
vnmeet  dalliance  with  two  or  three  girles. 

1643 

Nathaniel  Tappin,  for  breaking  into  severall  houses,  and  steal- 
ing severall  thinges  was  censured  to  be  whipped,  &  put  to  Good- 
man Gillam. 

Richard  Gell,  servant  to  ffrancis  ffellingham  of  Salem,  for  run- 
ning away  was  censured  to  be  whipped,  &  sent  to  his  Master, 
whom  hee  is  to  serve  for  the  time  hee  hath  lost. 

John  Bartlet  for  his  swearing,  theft,  &  drunkenes,  was  comit- 
ted  to  Prison,  &  censured  to  bee  whipped,  &  fined  twenty  shil- 
lings. 

John  Gammage  for  his  swearing,  drunkenes,  &  other  pro- 
phanes,  &  disorder,  was  censured  to  bee  well  whipped. 

Nicholas  Rogers  for  his  drunkenes,  and  makeing  others  drunke 
with  his  strong-water,  was  censured  to  bee  whipped. 

David  Dauling,  Mary  Audley,  &  Jane  Jeffrey,  for  their  filthy, 
&  vncleane  practise,  were  censured  to  bee  severely  whipped. 

David  Williams  for  assaulting  the  watch  was  censured  to  be 
whipped  at  Braintree,  and  warrant  to  George  Read,  to  stop  out 
of  the  wages,  to  pay  the  witnesses. 

Samuel  Bacon  for  stealing  wine,  &  other  thinges,  was  cen- 

[10*] 


Appendix 

sured  to  be  serverely  whipped,  &  to  make  double  restitution,  to 
Mrs  Hull,  &  his  Dame. 

1673 

Rebeckah  Rogers  sentenced  to  stand  in  the  markett  place  on  a 
stoole  for  one  hower  wth  a  paper  on  hir  breast  wth  ys  Inscription 
Thvs  I  Stand  for  My  Advlterouvs  and  Whorish  Carriage 
and  that  on  a  lecture  day  nex1  after  the  lecture  and  then  be  se- 
uerely  whipt  wth  thirty  stripes. 

1674 

Anna  Negro  Guilty  of  hauing  a  Bastard  child  &  privately  con- 
veyed it  away.  The  Court  Considering  of  this  virdict  sentenct 
the  sajd  Anna  Negro  to  stand  on  the  Gallowes  wth  a  Roape  fas- 
tened about  hir  necke  to  the  Galloues  for  one  hower  and  thence 
to  be  tyed  to  &  whip*  at  the  Carts  Tayle  to  the  prison  wth  thirty 
stripes  &  so  comitted  to  the  prison  there  to  lye  for  one  moneth 
and  then  to  be  Conveyed  by  the  marshall  Generall  to  charls- 
Towne  &  there  on  the  lecture  day  to  be  alike  tyed  to  &  whipt 
wth  thirty  stripes  &  then  on  hir  mrs  paying  the  charges  of  the 
tryall  &  prison  she  is  dischardged. 

1675 

The  Court  Judged  it  meet  to  nine  Jacob  Jesson  the  sume  of 
tenn  pounds  mony  for  his  Contemptuous  Carriage  in  the  Court 
in  obstructing  the  eleven  of  the  Jury  dissenting  from  them  from 
tjme  to  tjme  &  not  Giving  the  Court  a  sattisfactory  Reason. 

Maurice  Brett,  sentenct  to  be  Carrjed  from  the  prison  to  the 
Gallows  &  there  wth  a  Roape  about  his  necke  to  stand  half  an 
hower  &  thenc  tjed  to  the  Carts  tajle  &  whipt  seuerely  wth  thirty 
nine  stripes  and  that  he  be  banished  this  Jurisdiction  &  kept  in 
prison  till  he  be  sent  away  paying  the  prison  chardges, 

At  the  same  time  Maurice  Brett  for  his  Contemptuous  Car- 
riage Confronting  the  sentenc  of  this  Court  was  sentenct  to  stand 
in  the  pillory  on  ye  morrow  at  one  of  ye  clock  his  eare  nayld  to 
ye  pillory  &  after  an  howrs  standing  there  to  be  cut  of  &  to  pay 
twenty  shilling  for  his  swearing  or  be  whipt  wth  ten  stripes. 

[ii*] 


Appendix 

Mary  Gibbs,  for  adultery,  punished  with  the  same  sentence  as 
Maurice  Brett  with  the  exception  of  banishment. 

1676 

Thomas  Dauis  indicted  for  adultery,  found  not  guilty,  but 
guilty  of  very  suspitious  acts,  and  the  Court  sentenced  him  to 
be  Carrjed  to  the  Gallows  on  the  next  Fiuth  day  after  the  lecture 
&  there  to  stand  on  the  Gallows  wth  a  Roape  about  his  necke  one 
hower  &  tjed  to  the  Gallows  and  thenc  at  the  Carts  tajle  to  be 
seuerely  whipt  not  exceeding  thirty  nine  stripes  to  the  prison  & 
there  to  lye  till  the  nex*  lecture  day  at  Chads  Toune  &  carried 
then  thithr  &  be  there  alike  seuerely  whip*  not  exceeding  thirty 
stripes  &  discharging  his  prison  ffees  to  be  discharged. 

Elisabeth  Broune  was  sentenced  to  be  Conducted  to  the  Gal- 
lows &  by  the  executioner  to  haue  a  Rope  tied  about  her  neck 
to  ye  Gallow3  &  so  there  to  stand  one  hower  &  thenc  to  be  tyed 
to  the  Carts  tayle  &  seuerely  whipped  not  exceeding  thirty  nine 
stripes  to  the  prison  &  thr  left  till  the  next  lecture  day  at 
CharlsToune  &  then  Carrjed  ouer  &  be  there  alike  seuerely 
whipt  wth  thirty  stripes  &  discharging  her  prison  ffees  to  be  dis- 
charged. 

Peter  Cole  and  Sarah  Bucknam  were  sentenced  to  be  on  the 
nex*  fifth  day  after  lecture  Carried  to  the  Gallows  and  there  to 
stand  wth  a  halter  throune  ouer  ye  Gallowes  on  hower  &  then  tooke 
doune  tyed  to  the  Carts  tajle  &  be  seuerely  whipt  wth  thirty- 
nine  stripes,  and  paying  their  prison  ffees  to  be  discharged. 

1677 

Darby  Bryan  was  sentenced  to  be  taken  from  the  prison  to  the 
Gallowes  presently  after  the  lecture  in  Boston  &  there  to  stand 
wth  a  Roape  about  his  necke  &  fastned  thereto  one  hower  &  then 
taken  doune  &  tyed  to  a  Carts  Tayle  and  at  Left  ffrarys  doore 
stripped  from  the  Girdle  vp wards  on  his  naked  body  to  be 
whipped  thence  to  the  prison  wth  thirty  nine  stripes  well  layd  on 
&  there  left  till  he  dischardge  the  chardge  of  prosecution. 

Abigaile  Johnson,  for  an  offence  with  Darby  Bryan,  was  ad- 

[  ir] 


Appendix 

judged  to  suffer  in  all  respects  in  like  manner  as  above  in  Darby 
Bryan's  sentence. 

Ephraim  Beamis  was  sentenced  to  be  Carrjed  to  the  Gallowes 
&  there  Caused  to  stand  wth  a  Roape  about  his  neck  fastned  there- 
to for  one  hower  and  then  taken  doune  and  tyed  to  ye  Carts  tayle 
&  at  Leiftenn*  Frarys  to  be  stripped  from  the  Girdle  vpwards: 
&  then  Cause  the  executioner  to  whip  him  thence  to  the  prison 
wth  thirty  nine  stripes  on  his  naked  body  &  there  leaue  him  in 
prison  till  he  discharges  the  charge  of  his  prosecution  &  pays  ffees 
of  Court. 

1678 

Alexander  Colman  being  Complayned  on  for  his  endeavoring  to 
make  disturbance  of  the  people  in  time  of  publick  worship  on  the 
last  Lords  day  in  the  5d  meeting  house  in  Boston  by  Going  in 
wth  only  a  dirty  ffrock  of  Canvice  all  bloody  &  no  other  cloaths 
ye  Constable  hauing  Carried  him  to  prison  he  was  sent  for  &  be- 
ing demanded  whenc  he  came  he  Came  from  neuis  the  last  place  be- 
ing Askt  why  he  endeavored  to  make  disturbance  to  the  people  of 
God  on  ye  Lords  day  while  they  were  in  the  publick  worship  of 
God  The  Court  Considering  yor  offence  sentenc1  yow  to  be  whipt 
wth  15  stripes  on  ye  naked  bod[y]  well  lajd  on  &  by  ye  consta- 
ble to  be  sent  out  of  Toune  putting  on  his  frock. 

Ellinor  May  was  sentenced  to  be  tyed  to  a  Carts  Tayle  &  whipt 
vpon  hir  naked  body  from  the  Prisson  to  the  place  of  hir  aboad  not 
exceeding  thirty  nine  stripes  well  &  seuerely  layd  on,  and  also  to 
depart  out  of  the  Toune  of  Boston  wth  in  tenn  dayes  nex*  Comeing 
after  hir  Correction  and  no1  to  returne  againe  wthout  licence  from 
the  Gounor  or  two  magistrates  vnder  his  or  their  hands  in  writting 
and  in  Case  after  that  time  the  sajd  Elljnor  may  shall  be  found 
in  Boston  or  any  of  the  precincts  thereof  Contrary  to  this  Order 
she  shall  be  Apprhended  by  the  Constable  on  notice  given  by  any 
of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  sajd  Toune  &  Comitted  to  Bridewell 
there  to  remajne  vntill  the  Councill  or  Court  of  Assistants  shall 
Give  further  order  Concerning  her:  she  dischardging  ffees  of 
Court  &  Costs  of  wittnesses  to  be  dischardged. 


[13*] 


Appendix 

1679 

Peeter  Lorphelin  fFrenchman,  for  the  offence  of  clipping  money, 
was  sentenced  to  stand  vpon  the  pillory  two  howers  &  then  to 
haue  both  eares  cut  off  by  the  executioner  and  give  bond  in  fiue 
hundred  pounds  for  future  good  conduct. 

1681 
George  Fairfax  for  burglary  on  the  Lord's  Day,  was  sentenced 
to  be  branded  in  the  forhead  wth  the  letter  B,  and  to  be  seuerely 
whipt  wth  thirty  stripes,  paying  trble  damages  for  the  property 
stolen,  and  to  discharge  the  fees  of  Court. 

1683 

Leonard  Pomery  found  guilty  of  manslaugther  and  sentenced  to 
be  burnt  in  the  hand  &  forfeit  his  Goods  &  chattels  none  to  be 
found  ye  executioner  executed  the  sentenc  in  ye  face  of  the  Court. 

Joshua  Rice,  for  adultery,  sentenced  on  the  "nex1  fifth  day  of 
ye  weeke  presently  after  the  lecture  to  be  by  ye  marshall  Gen- 
nerall  to  be  taken  out  of  ye  prison  &  wth  a  Roape  ab*  your  necke 
Conveyed  thro  the  Towne  to  the  Gallowes  &  there  to  be  sett  on 
a  ladder  &  stand  on  full  hower  wth  yor  Roap  turnd  ouer  the  Gal- 
lowes &  then  to  be  taken  doune  &  Conveyed  to  the  begining  of 
the  street  entring  the  Towne  to  be  stript  &  tjed  to  the  Carts 
Tayle  &  be  seuerely  whip1  wth  thirty  stripes  thro  the  streets  to 
the  Goale  &  be  there  left  till  yow  discharge  the  charg  of  yor 
trjall  prison  &  Court  ffees,  wch  when  donn  to  be  releast  from 
prison  the  like  sentenc  was  passed  &  published  in  Court  in  all  re- 
spects against  &  to  Elisabeth  Crocket  wife  to  Crocke* 
partner  wth  him  in  their  odious  vile  &  lustfull  carnages." 

1684 
Phillip  Darland  for  adultery,  was  sentenced  to  be  returned  to 
prison  &  from  thenc  on  ye  morrow  prsently  after  the  lecture  to 
be  taken  thence  by  the  marshall  General  wth  a  Guard  &  Conveyed 
to  ye  place  of  execution  &  ther  caused  to  stand  on  hower  wth  a 
Rope  about  his  neck  Cast  ouer  the  Gallowes  &  thenc  to  be  taken 
downe  &  fastned  to  the  Carts  tayle  &  whipt   seuerely  on  his 

[14*] 


Appendix 

naked  ba[c]ke  to  the  prison  againe  not  exceeding  forty  stripes  & 
there  left  till  the  chardge  of  his  Try  all  &  wittnesses  wth  fees  of 
Court  be  dischard ged. 

Mary  Knights  for  adultery  with  Phillip  Darland,  was  sentenc* 
in  all  respect  as  Phillip  Darland  as  aboue,  wch  sentenc  was  ex- 
ecuted &  they  Returnd  to  Prison. 

Joseph  Gatchell  for  blasphemy,  sentenced  to  be  placed  in  the 
pillory  to  haue  his  head  &  hand  put  in  &  haue  his  toung  drawne 
forth  out  of  his  mouth  &  peirct  through  wth  a  hott  Iron  &  then 
to  be  returnd  to  the  prison  there  to  Remajne  vntill  he  sattisfy 
&  pay  all  ye  charges  of  his  tryall  &  ffees  of  Court  .  .  .  The  mar- 
shall  Genril  taking  necessary  help  wth  him  is  to  see  ye  execution 
of  ys  sentenc  pformed. 

1685 

Vriah  CI oemen1^  (calling  himself  John  Ball)  found  guilty  of  bur- 
glary and  sentenced  to  be  branded  wth  the  letter  B  on  ye  forhead 
&  haue  his  Right  eare  Cutt  of  dischardging  ye  charge  of  ye  wit- 
nesses tryall  &  fees  &  then  make  treble  Restitution  to  the  party 
Injuried  &  in  deffect  thereof  to  be  sold  to  any  of  the  English 
plantations. 

Sentenced  a  second  time  to  be  Againe  Branded  with  the  let- 
ter B  on  his  forehead  &  haue  his  left  eare  Cutt  of,  &c. 

1691 
Hannah  Owen  and  Josiah  Owen  were  committed  to  prison  be- 
cause she  was  Josiah  Owen's  brother's  relict  and  the  marriage  was 
declared  void,  and  she  was  required  to  make  publick  acknow- 
ledgement of  her  sin  &  evil  before  the  Congregation  at  Braintree 
on  their  Lecture  day,  or  on  the  Lord's  day. 

Whipping  was  in  those  days  also  the  usual  method  of  correc- 
tion in  schools  and  even  in  colleges  and  universities.  Sewall  notes 
such  a  punishment  in  Harvard  College  in  1684.  Thomas  Sar- 
geantwas  examined  by  the  Corporation;  finally,  the  advice  of  Mr. 
Danforth,  Mr.  Stoughton,  Mr.  Thatcher,  Mr.  Mather  (then  pre- 
sent) was  taken.  This  was  his  sentence : 

[15*] 


Appendix 

That  being  convicted  of  speaking  blasphemous  words  concern- 
ing the  H.  G.  he  should  be  therefore  publickly  whipped  before 
all  the  Scholars.  2.  That  he  should  be  suspended  as  to  taking  his 
degree  of  Bachelour  (this  sentence  read  before  him  twice  at  the 
Prts.  before  the  committee,  and  in  the  library  1  up  before  execu- 
tion). 3.  Sit  alone  by  himself  in  the  Hall  uncovered  at  meals, 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  President  and  Fellows,  and  be  in  all 
things  obedient,  doing  what  exercise  was  appointed  him  by  the 
President,  or  else  be  finally  expelled  the  Colledge.  The  first  was 
presently  put  in  execution  in  the  Library  (Mr.  Danforth  Jr.  be- 
ing present)  before  the  Scholars.  He  kneeled  down  and  the  in- 
strument Goodman  Hely  attended  the  President's  word  as  to  the 
performance  of  his  part  in  the  work.  Prayer  was  had  before  and 
after  by  the  President. 

This,  however,  was  only  following  the  practice  in  England. 
Rashdall,  in  "Universities  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages"  (vol.  ii. 
pp.  622,  623),  says:  "The  prolongation  of  the  whipping  age  to 
the  verge  of  manhood  is  perhaps  peculiar  to  the  English  Univer- 
sities. .  . .  The  Statutes  of  Brasenose — founded  in  1509 — are  the 
first  which  exhibit  the  undergraduate  completely  stripped  of  his 
medieval  dignity,  tamed,  and  reduced  to  the  schoolboy  level,  from 
which  he  did  not  begin  to  emerge  again  till  towards  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  Here  he  is  subjected  to  the  birch  at  the 
discretion  of  the  College  Lecturer  for  unprepared  lessons,  playing, 
laughing  or  talking  in  lecture,  making  'odious  comparisons,'  &c." 

In  the  Chapter  Book  of  Christ  College,  Oxford,  for  1650,  we 
find  this  entry:  "It  is  ordered  by  the  Dean  and  Chapter  that 
Devoye,  for  divers  gross  and  scandalous  acts,  shall  be  publicly 
whipped  in  the  house,  and  afterwards  sent  home  to  his  Father  for 
a  twelve  months,  and  not  to  return  then  without  a  testimonial 
of  his  civil  and  orderly  carriage  during  the  time  of  his  absence." 

In  the  College  Order  Book  of  Corpus  Christi,  Cambridge,  un- 
der date  of  May  22, 1648,  is  the  following:  "Johannes  Starke  de 
malis  moribus  collegio  amovendus.  Item  Benton  qui  ab  eo  seduc- 
tus  est  per  tutorem  suum  Mrum  Johnson  virgis  castigandus." 

In  1650  Henry  Stubbe,  a  Westminster  student,  then  nineteen 
years  old,  was  convicted  of  abusing  the  Censor  morum,  and  "for 

[16*] 


Appendix 

so  doing  and  his  impudence  in  other  respects  whipped  by  him  in 
the  Public  Refectory."* 

Bathurst,  president  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  who  died 
in  1704,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  "delighted  to  surprise  the 
scholars  when  walking  in  the  grove  at  unseasonable  hours,  on 
which  occasion  he  frequently  carried  a  whip  in  his  hand,  an  in- 
strument of  academical  correction  then  not  entirely  laid  aside. 
But  this  he  practised  on  account  of  the  pleasure  he  took  in  giv- 
ing so  odd  an  alarm,  rather  than  from  any  principle  of  approving, 
or  intention  of  applying  so  illiberal  punishment."  f 

In  the  records  of  the  early  days  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin  (at 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century),  we  find  that  the  stu- 
dents were  punished  for  the  following  offences:  "(1)  lodging  in 
town ;  (2)  resorting  to  ale-houses  (for  this  offence  they  were  pun- 
ished with  the  rod);  (3)  absence  from  catechizing  and  sermon; 
(4)  omitting  declamations;  (5)  playing  at  cards  in  the  porter's 
lodging  in  the  steeple;  (6)  climbing  the  college  walls;  (7)  a  public 
whipping,  at  the  hour  of  corrections,  for  breaking  the  provost's 
windows;  (8)  student  fined  %5s.  for  stealing  a  hogshead  of  the  pro- 
vost's strong  beer,  through  Sir  Wilson's  study  wall  being  broken ; 
(9)  made  to  sit  in  the  stocks  at  supper-time  for  fighting  with 
weapons;  (10)  a  master  of  arts  was  expelled  for  having  a  bastard 
of  a  wicked  woman  at  Finglas."  J 


*  Life  of  Henry  Stubbe,  by  Wood. 

t  Life  of  Bathurst,  by  Warton. 

X  History  of  the  University  of  Dublin,  p.  26,  J.  W.  Stubbs. 

[  in 


Reference  Tables 

A  few  of  the  dates  necessary  for  locating  the  events  of  the  period 
under  consideration  are  here  given  for  convenience  of  reference, 

SUCCESSION  OF  ENGLISH  SOVEREIGNS 

Charles  I.,  1625-1649. 

Commonwealth  under  Cromwell,  1649-1659. 

Charles  II.,  1660-1685 

(Proclaimed  in  Boston  August  8,  1661.) 
James  II.,  1685-1688. 
William  and  Mary,  February  16,  1689-1702 

(Proclaimed  in  Boston,  May  29,  1689.  Mary  died  in  1694.) 
Anne,  1702-1714. 

DATES  OF  CHARTERS 

First  Charter  granted  to  the  Governor  and  company  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  March  4, 1629.  This  Char- 
ter was  vacated,  June  18,  1684. 

Second  Charter  granted  to  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England,  October  7,  1691. 

SUCCESSION  OF  GOVERNORS 

Under  the  Charter  of  1629. 
John  Endicott,  1655-1665. 
Richard  Bellingham,  1665-1672. 
John  Leverett,  1672-1679. 
Simon  Bradstreet,  1679-1686. 

After  Revocation  of  Charter  of  1629. 

Joseph  Dudley,  under  title  of  President  of  New  England,  May, 
1686-December,  1686. 

Edmund  Andros,  under  title  of  Governor  of  New  England,  De- 
cember, 1686-April,  1689. 

Simon  Bradstreet,  under  title  of  President  of  the  Council  of 
Safety  and  Conservation  of  the  Peace,  1689-1692. 

Under  Charter  of  1691. 
William  Phips,  1692-1694. 

William  Stoughton  (Acting  Governor),  1694-1699- 

[  19*] 


Appendix 

Richard  Coote,  Earl  of  Bellomont,  May,  1699 -July,  1700. 
William  Stoughton  {Acting  Governor),  July,  1700- July,  1701, 
The  Council  without  Governor,  July,  1701 -June,  1702. 
Joseph  Dudley,  1702-1714. 


[  20*] 


Authorities  Consulted 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  authorities  consulted  in  the  pre- 
paration of  this  Work: 

Acts,  The,  and  Resolves,  Public  and  Private,  of  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay .  .  . ;  prefixed,  the  Charters  of  the  Province ; 
with  historical  and  explanatory  notes,  and  an  appendix.  Boston. 
1869- 1907.  14  volumes.  8vo.  — Contains  Province  Laws,  1692-3; 
1695-6; 1716. 

American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass.  Proceedings. 
Worcester,  1843  to  date.  8vo. 

Andros  Tracts,  The.  Edited  by  William  Henry  Whitmore.  Bos- 
ton. 1868-1874.  3  volumes.  (Prince  Society  Publications.)  Small  4to. 

Annals  of  King's  Chapel  from  the  Puritan  Age  of  New  England 
to  the  Present  Day.  By  Henry  Wilder  Foote.  Boston.  1882,  1896. 
2  volumes.  8vo. 

Arnold,  Samuel  Greene.  History  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantations.  1636-1790.  New  York.  1859,  I860. 
2  volumes.  8vo. 

Body,  The,  of  Liberties.  1641.  In  facsimile  from  the  Hutchinson 
Manuscript,  with  a  line-for-line  printed  version.  In  W.  H.  Whit- 
more, A  bibliographical  sketch  of  the  Laws  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  from  1630  to  1686.  Pages  29-68.  Boston.  1890.  8vo. 

Boston  News-Letter,  The.  A  weekly  paper.  Boston.  1704-1727. 

Boston.  Registry  Department.  Records  relating  to  the  Early 
History  of  Boston.  Boston.  1876-1906.  37  volumes.  8vo. 

Bostonian  Society.  Publications.  Volume  3.  Boston.  1906.  8vo. 

Bowen,  Abel,  editor.  Bowen's  Picture  of  Boston,  or  the  Citizen's 
and  stranger's  guide  to  the  metropolis  of  Massachusetts,  and  its 
environs.  Boston.  1829-  24mo. 

Bridgman,  Thomas.  Memorials  of  the  Dead  in  Boston ;  contain- 
ing an  exact  transcript  from  inscriptions,  epitaphs  and  records  on  the 
monuments  and  tombstones  in  Copp's  Hill  Burying  Ground,  in  the 
City  of  Boston.  Illustrated  by  copious  historical  and  biographical 
notices  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  metropolis  of  New  England.  Bos- 
ton. 1852.  12mo. 

Bridgman,  Thomas.  Memorials  of  the  Dead  in  Boston ;  contain- 

[21*] 


Appendix 

ing  exact  transcripts  of  inscriptions  on  the  sepulchral  monuments  in 
the  King's  Chapel  Burial  Ground,  in  the  City  of  Boston,  with  copi- 
ous historical  and  biographical  notices  of  many  of  the  early  settlers 
of  the  metropolis  of  New  England.  Boston.  1853.  12mo. 

Bridgman,  Thomas.  The  Pilgrims  of  Boston  and  their  Descend- 
ants: with  an  introduction  by  Edward  Everett.  Also,  Inscriptions 
from  the  monuments  in  the  Granary  Burial  Ground,  Tremont  street. 
New  York.  1856.  8vo. 

Byfield,  Nathanael.  An  Account  of  the  Late  Revolution  in  New- 
England.  Together  with  the  declaration  of  the  gentlemen,  mer- 
chants, and  inhabitants  of  Boston  and  the  country  adjacent,  April 
18,  1689.  London.  Chiswell.  1689-  Reprinted  in  The  Andros  Tracts, 
Volume  1,  No.  2.  Boston.  1868. 

Centuriae  Magdeburgenses  [tredecim],  Historia  ecclesiastica, 
denuo  per  L.  Lucium  recensita.  Basileae.  1624.  3  volumes.  Folio. 

Charter,  The,  and  General  Laws  of  the  Colony  and  Province  of 

Massachusetts  Bay Added  an  appendix.  Published  by  order  of 

the  General  Court.  Boston.  1814.  8vo. 

Colonial  Laws,  The,  of  Massachusetts.  Reprinted  from  the  edi- 
tion of  1660,  with  the  supplements  to  1672.  Containing,  also,  the 
Body  of  Liberties  of  1641.  Published  by  order  of  the  City  Council 
of  Boston,  under  the  supervision  of  William  H.  Whitmore.  Boston. 
1889-  8vo. 

Colonial  Laws,  The,  of  Massachusetts.  Reprinted  from  the  edi- 
tion of  1672,  with  the  supplements  through  1686.  Published  by  or- 
der of  the  City  Council  of  Boston,  under  the  supervision  of  William 
H.  Whitmore.  Boston.  1887.  8vo. 

Connecticut  Colonial  Records.  Public  Records  of  the  Colony. 
Hartford.  1850-1887.  14  volumes.  8vo.  —  Edited  by  J.  H.  Trumbull 
and  Charles  J.  Hoadly. 

Douglass,  William.  A  Summary,  Historical  and  Political,  of  the 
first  planting,  progressive  improvements,  and  present  state  of  the 
British  settlements  in  North  America.  Boston.  1749,  1751.  2  vol- 
umes. 8vo. 

Drake,  Samuel  Adams.  Old  Landmarks  and  Historic  Personages 
of  Boston.  Boston.  1873.  12mo. 

Drake,  Samuel  Gardner.  The  History  and  Antiquities  of  Boston 
from  1630  to  1770.  Boston.  1856.  8vo. 

[  22*] 


Appendix 

Dunton,  John.  Letters  written  from  New  England,  a.  d.  1686. 
Now  first  published.  With  notes  and  an  appendix,  by  W.  H.  Whit- 
more.  Boston.  1867.  (Prince  Society  Publications.)  Small  4to. 

Frothingham,  Richard.  The  History  of  Charlestown,  Massachu- 
setts. Boston.  1845-1849.  Seven  parts  in  one  volume.  8vo. 

General  Laws,  The,  and  Liberties  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony : 
revised  &  re-printed.  By  Order  of  the  General  Court  holden  at 
Boston,  May  15th.  1672.  Edward  Rawson,  Seer.  Cambridge.  Printed 
by  Samuel  Green,  for  John  Usher  of  Boston.  1672.  8vo. 

Great  Britain.  Commission  for  Printing  and  Publishing  State 
Papers.  Calendar  of  State  Papers:  Colonial  Series.  Edited  by  Wil- 
liam Noel  Sainsbury,  and  continued  by  the  Honorable  John  William 
Fortescue.  16  volumes.  London.  1860-1906.  8vo.  —  Known  as  the 
Colonial  Entry  Books. 

Hazard,  Ebenezer.  Historical  Collections;  consisting  of  State 
Papers,  and  other  authentic  documents ;  intended  as  materials  for  an 
History  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Philadelphia.  1792,  1794. 
2  volumes.  4to. 

Hubbard,  William.  A  General  History  of  New  England,  from 
the  discovery  to  1680.  Boston.  1848.  2  volumes.  (Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society.  Collections,  Second  series,  Volumes  5,  6.)  8vo. 

Hutchinson,  Thomas.  The  History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachu- 
sets-Bay,  from  the  first  settlement  thereof  in  1628,  until  its  incor- 
poration with  the  Colony  of  Plymouth,  Province  of  Main,  &c.  by  the 
Charter  of  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  in  1691.  Boston.  Thomas 
&  John  Fleet.  1764-1828.  3  volumes.  8vo. 

Hutchinson  Papers,  The.  Albany,  1865.  2  volumes.  (Prince  So- 
ciety Publications.)  Small  4to. 

Laws  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  passed  by  the  Gene- 
ral Court  in  the  years  1780-1838.  Published  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth.  Boston.  1801-1834.  14  volumes.  8vo.  —  Containing 
Laws  of  1786,  1818,  1820,  and  1834. 

Lechford,  Thomas.  Note-book  kept  by  Thomas  Lechford,  Esq., 
lawyer,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  June  27,  1638,  to  July 
29,  1641.  Edited  by  Edward  Everett  Hale,  Jr.  Cambridge.  1885. 
(American  Antiquarian  Society.)  8vo. 

Lechford,  Thomas.  Plain  Dealing :  or  Nevves  from  New-England. 
...  A  short  view  of  New-Englands  present  Government,  both  Eccle- 

[  23*] 


Appendix 


siasticall  and  Civil,  compared  with  the  anciently -received  and  es- 
tablished Government  of  England,  in  some  materiall  points ;  fit  for 
the  gravest  consideration  in  these  times.  London.  Printed  by  W.  E. 
and  I.  G.  for  Nath:  Butter.  1642.  Small  4to. 

Same.  Reprinted  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Collections. 
Third  Series.  Volume  3. 

Same.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  J.  Hammond  Trum- 
bull. Boston.  1 867.  (Library  of  New  England  History.  No.  4.)  Small  4  to. 

Littlefleld,  George  Emery.  Early  Boston  Booksellers,  1642-1711. 
Boston.  1900.  (Club  of  Odd  Volumes.)  8vo. 

Littlefield,  George  Emery.  The  Early  Massachusetts  Press,  1638- 
1711.  Boston.  1907.  2  volumes.  (Club  of  Odd  Volumes.)  8vo. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston.  Collections.  Series  1-7. 
Boston.  1806-1890.  8vo. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston.  Proceedings  for  1862. 
Boston.  1862. 

Mather,  Cotton.  Magnalia  Christi  Americana :  or,  the  Ecclesiasti- 
cal-History of  New-England,  from  its  First  Planting  in  the  Year 
1620,  unto  the  Year  of  our  Lord,  1698.  In  seven  books ...  By  the 
Reverend  and  Learned  Cotton  Mather,  M.A.,  and  Pastor  of  the 
North  Church  in  Boston,  New-England.  London :  Printed  for  Tho- 
mas Parkhurst.  MDCCII.  Folio. 

Same.  First  American  edition.  Hartford.  1820.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Same.  With  an  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Rob- 
bins:  And  Translations  of  the  quotations  by  Lucius  F.  Robinson. 
Hartford.  1853.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Morse,  Jedidiah,  and  Elijah  Parish.  A  Compendious  History  of 
New  England,  exhibiting  an  interesting  view  of  the  first  settlers  of 
that  country,  their  character,  their  sufferings,  and  their  ultimate 
prosperity.  Collected  and  arranged,  from  authentic  sources  of  in- 
formation, by  Jedidiah  Morse,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Elijah  Parish,  A.M.,  of 
Boston,  New  England.  London:  Printed ...  for  C.  Taylor.  1808. 12mo. 

Neal,  Daniel.  The  History  of  the  Puritans ;  or,  Protestant  Non- 
conformists;  from  the  Reformation  in  1517,to  the  Revolution  in  1 68 8  : 
Comprising  an  account  of  their  principles,  their  attempts  for  a  far- 
ther reformation  in  the  Church ;  their  sufferings ;  and  the  Lives  and 
characters  of  their  most  considerable  divines.  A  new  edition,  in  five 
volumes,  reprinted  from  the  text  of  Dr.  [Joshua]  Toulmin's  edition, 

[  24*] 


Appendix 


with  his  Life  of  the  author  and  account  of  his  writings.  Revised,  cor- 
rected and  enlarged.  London.  1822.  Portraits.  8vo. 

New  Hampshire  Historical  Society.  Collections.  Concord.  1824 
to  date. 

Olden  Time  Series,  The.  Gleanings  chiefly  from  Old  Newspapers 
of  Boston  and  Salem,  Massachusetts.  Selected  and  arranged,  with 
brief  comments  by  Henry  M.  Brooks.  Volume  5 :  Some  Strange  and 
Curious  Punishments.  Boston.  1886.  l6mo. 

Palfrey,  John  Gorham.  History  of  New  England.  Boston.  1858- 
1890.  5  volumes.  8vo. 

Porter,  Edward  Griffin.  Rambles  in  Old  Boston,  New  England. 
Illustrated  by  George  R.  Tolman.  Boston.  1887.  8vo. 

Publications  of  the  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts.  Volumes 
1-10.  Boston.  1895  to  date. 

Puritans,  The,  or  The  Church,  Court,  and  Parliament  of  England, 
during  the  Reigns  of  Edward  VI  and  Queen  Elizabeth.  By  Samuel 
Hopkins.  In  3  volumes.  Vol.  I.  Boston.  1859-  8vo. 

Quincy,  Josiah.  Municipal  History  of  the  Town  and  City  of  Boston, 
during  two  centuries,  1630-1830.  Boston.  1852.  8vo. 

Randolph,  Edward.  Edward  Randolph ;  including  his  Letters  and 
official  papers  from  the  New  England,  Middle,  and  Southern  Colo- 
nies in  America,  with  other  documents  relating  chiefly  to  the  va- 
cating of  the  Royal  Charter  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
1676-1703.  With  historical  illustrations  and  a  Memoir  by  Robert 
Noxon  Toppan.  Boston.  1898,  1899-  5  volumes.  (Prince  Society 
Publications.)  Small  4to. 

Records  of  the  Court  of  Assistants.  1630-1692.  Printed  under 
the  supervision  of  John  Noble.  Boston.  1901,  1904.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Records  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  from  October,  1641,  to  March 
5,  1643-4.  Now  first  published.  In  A  bibliographical  sketch  of  the 
Laws  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  from  1630  to  1686.  By  William 
H.  Whitmore.  Pages  xxvii-xliii.  Boston.  1890.  8vo. 

Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England.  Edited  by  Nathaniel  B.  Shurtleff.  Boston. 
1853,  1854.  5  volumes.  8vo.  —  Known  as  the  Massachusetts  Colony 
Records. 

Sewall,  Samuel.  Diary.  1674-1729.  Boston.  1878-1882.  3  vol- 

[  25*] 


Appendix 

umes.  (Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Collections,  Series  5,  vol- 
umes 5-7.)  8vo. 

Shaw,  Charles.  A  Topographical  and  Historical  Description  of  Bos- 
ton, from  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  to  the  present  period.  Bos- 
ton. 1817.  12mo. 

Shurtleff,  Nathaniel  B.  A  Topographical  and  Historical  Descrip- 
tion of  Boston.  Boston.  1871.  8vo.  Third  edition,  edited  by  William 
H.  Whitmore.  Boston.  1890.  8vo. 

Snow,  Caleb  Hopkins.  A  History  of  Boston,  the  Metropolis  of 
Massachusetts,  from  its  origin  to  the  present  period,  with  some  ac- 
count of  the  environs.  Second  edition.  Boston.  1828.  8vo. 

True-blue  Laws,  The,  of  Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  and  the 
false  blue-laws  invented  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters  and  judicial 
proceedings  of  other  colonies  and  some  blue-laws.  Edited  by  James 
Hammond  Trumbull.  Hartford.  1876.  12mo. 

Weeden,  William  Babcock.  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New 
England.  1620-1789-  Boston.  1890.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Whitmore,  William  Henry.  History  of  the  Old  State-House.  Bos- 
ton. 1882.  8vo. 

'Whitmore,  William  Henry.  Introduction  to  his  edition  of  the 
Colonial  Laws  of  Massachusetts.  Boston.  1889- 

Whitmore,  William  Henry.  The  Massachusetts  Civil  List  for  the 
Colonial  and  Provincial  periods;  1630-1774.  Albany.  1870.  8vo. 

Winsor,  Justin,  editor.  The  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  including 
Suffolk  County,  Mass.  1630-1880.  Boston.  1880, 1881.  4  volumes.  4to. 

Winthrop,  John.  The  History  of  New  England  from  1630  to 
1649.  From  his  original  manuscripts.  With  notes  to  illustrate  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  concerns,  the  geography,  settlement  and  in- 
stitutions of  the  country,  and  the  lives  and  manners  of  the  principal 
planters.  By  James  Savage.  Boston.  1825,  1826.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Winthrop,  John.  Winthrop,s  journal  "History  of  New  England," 
1630-1649.  Edited  by  James  Kendall  Hosmer.  New  York.  1908. 
2  volumes.  (Original  Narratives  of  Early  American  History.)  8vo. 

Winthrop,  Robert  C.  The  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Winthrop. 
Boston.  1864,  1867.  2  volumes.  8vo. 

Young,  Alexander,  editor.  Chronicles  of  the  First  Planters  of  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  1628  to  1636.  Boston.  1846.  8vo. 

[  26*] 


Index 


Index 


A  bsence  from  church  meetings 

jf\  fined,  18,  129. 

Accada,  or  Nova  Scotia,  part  of 
the  province  under  charter  of 
1692,  187,  188. 

Act  modifying  conditions  for  be- 
coming freeman,  160,  l6l. 

Act  of  incorporation  of  Boston  as 
city  or  borough,  1709,  voted 
down,  198. 

"  Acts  and  Laws  of  His  Majesties 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England,"  83. 

Acts  and  orders,  publishing  of, 
7,  107,  108. 

Acts  of  the  General  Court,  see 
General  Court,  Acts  and  orders. 

Adames,  Alex.,  63. 

Addington,  Isaac,  112,  113,  114, 
116,  173,  180,  183,  184,  193, 
195,  196. 

Address,  to  King  Charles  II  on 
confirmation  and  preservation 
of  colony  charter  in  1660, 
1664,  151,  153,  161,  162;  to 
King  Charles  II  in  1684,  169, 
170;  to  King  James  II,  1685, 
171. 

Adultery,  punished  with  death, 
&c,  12;  cases  of,  5*,  12*  14*, 
15*. 

Agents  on  contract  for  building 
of  town  house,  65. 

Agreement  for  the  building  of 
town  house,  66,  61. 

Alderton,  Point,  195. 

Alfford,  Mr.,  64. 


Allen  (Allin),  Daniel,  112,  114. 

Allen,  Rev.  James,  180,  187. 

Allen,  John,  printer,  87. 

Allen,  Robert,  whipped  and  ban- 
ished, 5*,  8*. 

Allin,  Thomas,  fined,  103. 

Alline,  Henry,  6l,  94,  141. 

Allowance  and  disallowance  of 
colonial  acts  under  the  pro- 
vince charter,  109- 

"Almanack  of  Ccelestial  Motions 
for...  1681,"  85. 

American  Antiquarian  Society  of 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  1 79- 

Ames  Building,  6. 

Anabaptist  controversy  and  order 
of  the  court,  1644,  37,  38. 

Ancient  and  Honourable  Artil- 
lery Company,  49,  76;  drill 
place  of,  93,  94. 

Anderson,  John,  62. 

Andros,SirEdmond(l637-l7l4): 
attempts  to  force  Church  of 
England  service  in  the  Puritan 
meeting-houses,  140,141;  coun- 
cil order  for  reception  of,  177; 
governor-in-chief  of  New  Eng- 
land, 1686-9,  x,  94,  112,  113, 
115,  132,  133,  140,  176,/"., 
203,  19*;  Sewall  on  landing 
of,  140;  surrenders  to  the  Pu- 
ritan element  of  Boston,  185. 

Andros  government,  115,  11 6, 
117;  attitude  toward  declara- 
tion of  William  and  Mary,  183; 
consists  of  governor,  deputy 
governor  and  council,  178;  dis- 


[  29*] 


Index 


approves  of  fasts,  sermons  and 
lectures  in  town  house,  180, 
181;  overthrown,  183. 

Androws,  William,  whipped  and 
enslaved,  6*. 

Androws'  gift,  41. 

"Annals  of  King's  Chapel,"  131, 
143. 

Anne,  Queen  of  England,  108, 
196,  197,  199. 

Antego,  139. 

Antram,  Mr. ,  96. 

Apostle  Eliot,  see  Eliot,  Rev. 
John. 

Apparel,  order  concerning,  1639, 
27;  additional  law  concern- 
ing, 154;  Increase  Mather  de- 
nounces extravagance  of,  208. 

Appeal  for  new  trials  permitted 
by  General   Court,  1642,  34. 

Appeal  to  Magna  Charta  on  part 
of  colonists  denied  by  theory 
of  English  law,  175. 

Applegate,  Elisabeth,  1636,  pun- 
ished, 5*. 

Appraisers,  105. 

Apprenticeship,  order  touching, 

99- 
Armory  provided  at  first  in  part 

of  meeting-house,  33;  use  of 

town  house  for,  93. 
Arms  removed  from  fort  to  town 

house  in  1690,  186. 
Arnold,  Richard,  115. 
Artillery   Company,  49,  76,  93, 

94. 
Artisans'  pay,  10,  12,  13,  14,  20, 

22. 
Aspinwall,  William,  disfranchised 

and  banished,  23. 


Assembly  under  provisional  gov- 
ernment, 1689-92,  186. 

Assistants  in  the  colony,  9, 10, 1 1, 
12, 15, 18, 145,  146;  first  meet- 
ing of,  9ff>;  governor  and  de- 
puty governor  first  chosen  from 
among  the,  10;  number  of,  9, 
1 53.  See  also  Court  of  Assistants. 

Atkinson,  Theodore,  59. 

Attendance  upon  divine  services 
compulsory,  18,  129. 

Audley,  Mary,  whipped,  10*. 

Authority  of  courts  under  colony 
charter,  145. 

Backhouse,  William,  gives  books 
in  1629,  121. 

Bacon,  Samuel,  whipped,  10*, 
11*. 

Bailey,  Rev.  John  (1644-97),  87. 

Baker,  Mr. ,  62. 

Baker,  John,  63. 

Baker,  John,  whipped,  10. 

Baker,  Thomas,  60,  178. 

Ball,  John,  see  Cloements,  Vriah. 

Barber,  Goodman,  bellringer,  1 05. 

Barloe,  Bartholomew,  63. 

Barlow,  George,  punished,  5*. 

Barnerd,  John,  Jr.,  compiles  cat- 
alogue of  library  in  town 
house,  1702-4,  and  arranges 
books,  122. 

Barnes,  Mathew,  62. 

Barnes,  Nath11,  occupies  shop  un- 
der town  house,  83. 

Barrett,  Johns,  58. 

Bartlet,  John,  whipped  and  im- 
prisoned, 10*. 

Barton,  Marmaduke,  whipped  and 
made  a  slave,  8*. 


[30*] 


Index 


Basis  of  taxation,  1634,  16. 

Batterly,  Robt.,  60. 

Bay  Psalms  Book,  eighth  and  ninth 
editions  mentioned,  87. 

Bayly,  Rev.,  180.  See  Bailey,  Rev. 
John. 

Beacon  on  Sentry  Hill,  17. 

Beacon  Hill,  13,  118. 

Beadle  for  governor  provided  for, 
9;  house  for,  12. 

Beamis,  Ephraim,  whipped,  13*. 

Beamsley  (Beamslleay),  W^i.,  mas- 
ter of  Davyd  Conway,  63,  9*. 

Beaver,  price  of,  18. 

Becks,  Alexander,  63. 

Beer  brewing,  regulations  con- 
cerning, 23,  24. 

Belcher,  Capt.  Andrew,  199- 

Belcher,  Capt.,  of  Dedham,  207. 

Belcher,  Edward,  63. 

Belknap,  Jeremiah,  rents  shop 
under  town  house,  84. 

Bell,  Sarah,  whipped,  9*. 

Bellingham,Richard(1592-l672), 
58 ;  deputy  governor,  147, 1 56, 
157;  governor,  1665-72,  x,  19*. 

Bellman,  see  bellringer. 

Bellomont  administration,  1699- 
1700,  194,  195. 

Bellringer,  105 ;  order  for  the,  104. 

Bellringing,  selectmen's  order  as 
to,  July  25,  1664,  74,  75. 

Bernad,  Bartholomew,  contractor 
for  town  house,  65-7. 

Berry,  James,  132. 

BickerstafFe,  John,  whipped,  6*. 

Biggs,  John,  6l. 

Bilbowes,  3*,  4*. 

Billirikey,  town  of,  149. 

Bills  of  credit,  198. 

[  31 


Births,  record  of,  provided  for  in 
1642,  34. 

Bishop,  Mr.  ,  63. 

Bishop,  Bridget,  hanged  as  a 
witch,  190. 

Bishop  of  London  claims  colony 
as  part  of  diocese,  135. 

Bithin,  Mary,  rents  shop  under 
town  house,  84. 

Blacklach,  Jon,  6l. 

Blackstone,  William,  receives 
grant  of  fifty  acres,  13. 

Blake,  Henry,  63. 

Bligh,  Thomas,  59- 

"Body  of  Liberties,' '  1 64 1 ,  quoted, 
46,  107. 

Bonde,  Joseph,  60. 

Bonamy,  Jn,  133. 

Book  of  Possessions,  6. 

Book  of  Common  Prayer,  see 
Common  Prayer,  Book  of. 

Book-business,  early,  on  Corn- 
Hill,  85. 

Books,  given  by  William  Back- 
house, 1629,  121;  given  by 
Capt.  Keayne  for  a  public  li- 
brary, 119,  120;  given  by  Rev. 
John  Oxenbridge,  120,  121; 
lost  in  fire  of  1711,  123. 

Booksellers  in  and  around  town 
house,  83-5. 

Boston,  3,  5,  6,  9,  12,  13,  17,  19, 
42,  44,  50,  65,  66,  69,  76,  82, 
83,  84,  85,  86,  87,  89,  91,  93, 
94,  97, 100,  108,  111,  115,  153, 
173,  175,  177,  181,  183,  184, 
185,  186,  201,  202,  8*,  9*. 

Boston  Common,  8,  103,  149, 
180. 

Boston :  conditions  under  Dudley, 

*] 


Index 


198 ;  ferry  toWinnetsemett,38, 
106;  fined  by  General  Court, 
26 ;  fire  referred  to  by  the  Ma- 
thers, 208,  211;  named  first  as 
town  in  1630, 10;  neck  defined, 
9*;  old  town  house,  see  Town 
house ;  population  ceases  to  in- 
crease from  1705-11, 198;  post 
office  mentioned,  123;  streets 
paved  as  early  as  1663  with 
cobblestones,  103;  town  house, 
see  Town  house. 

Boston,  first  postmaster  of,  87; 
first  settlers'  condition  and  con- 
duct of  affairs  of,  7,  8 ;  first  two 
principal  streets  of,  3 ;  incorpo- 
ration of,  voted  down,  198 ;  ori- 
ginal bounds  of,  3;  quarterly 
court  at,  21 ;  use  of  town  house 
by  town  of,  97-106. 

Boston  Athenaeum,  has  book  of 
town  library  prior  to  1711,123; 
has  library  of  Boston,  originally 
belonging  to  King's  Chapel, 
125. 

"  Boston  News  Letter,"  account 
of  fire  of  October  2, 1711, 207; 
advertisement  in,  123. 

Boston  Record  Commissioners 
Reports,  118. 

Boston-Winnetsemett  ferry-rent 
remitted,  1644,  38. 

Bostonian  Society,  56. 

Bostonian  Society  Publications 
(vol.  3),  64. 

Bounties  upon  foxes  and  wolves, 
24,  31,  39,  40,  152. 

Brace,  Steuen,  fined,  105. 

Brackett,  Peter,  of  Brain trje,  149. 

Bradshaw,  Humphrey,  60. 

[i 


Bradstreet,  Simon  (1603-97),  x, 
177,  178,  183,  184;  commis- 
sioner to  England,  115;  coun- 
cillor or  assistant  to  governor, 
188;  governor,  1679-89,  x,  94, 
169,  19*;  president  of  the 
Council  for  the  Safety  of  the 
People  and  Conservation  of  the 
Peace,  186,  19*;  resigns,  187. 

Bradstreet  government,  1 16, 1 17 ; 
mild  rule  of,  196-9- 

Bradstreet  provisional  govern- 
ment imprisons  Dudley,  1689, 
196,  197. 

Braintree,  149,  10*. 

Brasenose,  whipping  at,  16*. 

Brattle,  Capt.,  122. 

Brattle, Thomas  (1657-1713), 6l. 

Brazer  Building,  4. 

Brenton,  William,  5,  52,  63. 

Brett,  Maurice,  pilloried  and 
whipped,  44,  11*. 

Briant,  Thomas,  whipped,  8*. 

Bridewell,  13*. 

Bridgham,  Henry,  6l. 

Brinsmead,  Mr.  ,  180. 

Brisco,  179. 

Broadstreet,  Symond,  overseer  of 
Capt.  Keayne's  will,  58. 

Brodbent,  Joshua,  132. 

Brome,  George,  60. 

Bromfield,  Mr.  Edward,  199- 

"Brother"  and  "Sister,"  titles 
used  among  first  settlers,  7. 

Broughton,  Mr.  ,  51,  56. 

Broune,  Elisabeth,  see  Browne, 
Elizabeth. 

Browne,  Mr.  ,  193. 

Browne,  Elizabeth,  whipped,  44, 
12*. 

P] 


Index 


Browne,  James,  witness  to  build- 
ing contract  of  town  house,  67. 

Browne,  William,  a  runaway, 
whipped,  10*. 

Browne,  Wm-,  Esqr.,  63,  112. 

Browning,  Joseph,  bookseller, 
85,  86. 

Browning,  Mr.  ,  180. 

Brumfeild,  William,  punished,  5*. 

Brunning,  Joseph,  see  Browning, 
Joseph. 

Bryan,  Darby,  whipped,  12*. 

Buckley,  an  Episcopalian,  1686, 
139. 

Bucknam,  Sarah,  whipped,  12*. 

Buet(s),  Hugh,  a  heretic,  ban- 
ished, 1640,  7*. 

Building  contract  of  town  house, 
65-7. 

Building  law,  first  passed  in  1679, 
205;  modified  in  1684  and 
1692,  169,  205. 

Bullivant,  Benjamin,  112,  114, 
115. 

Bumsted,  Thomas,  62. 

Burial  of  suicides,  law  in  regard 
to,  151. 

<e Burnings  bewailed:  in  a  Sermon 
occasioned  by  the  Lamentable 
Fire  which  was  in  Boston,  Oc- 

tob.  2,  1711 By  Increase 

Mather,"  207,  208. 

Burrington,  from  Newfoundland, 
brings  news  of  Queen  Anne's 
accession,  108. 

Burrows,  John,  whipped,  7*. 

Burwoode,  Ales,  whipped,  6*. 

Busby,  Abraham,  63. 

Bussaker,  Peter,  whipped,  4*. 

Button,  John,  59- 


Buttolph,  Thomas,  59;  house  of, 

5,6. 
Byfield,    Mr.    Nathaniel    (1653- 

1733),  195. 

Cable,  John,  whipped,  3*. 

Caiman,  Alexander,  shoemaker, 
fined,  105. 

Cambridge,  121,  122,  8*;  origi- 
nally Newe  towne,  6,  1 5 ;  only 
place  where  printing  was  al- 
lowed in  1665,  164;  present 
name  ordered  in  1638,  25. 

"Cards, dice  or  tables"  prohibited 
bylaw,  11,  165. 

Carter,  Ann,  6l. 

Carter,  Richard,  62. 

Carwithen,  Elizabeth,  132. 

Cases  of  whipping  and  other  pun- 
ishments, 10,  12,  142-5,  3*- 
17*. 

Castine,  Jeremy,  6l. 

Castle,  Widow ,  106. 

Castle  Island,  159;  fortifications 
provided  for,  16. 

Catalogue,  of  King's  Chapel  li- 
brary, 1 25 ;  of  town  library,  122. 

Cavalier  and  Puritan  church  con- 
troversy, 140,  141. 

Censorship  of  the  press,  by  An- 
dros,  1689,  181;  by  order  of 
General  Court,  156, 1 64;  regu- 
lations of,  in  1681,  169. 

Centres  of  community  life,  5,  6. 

Centry  hill,  see  Sentry  hill. 

Chamberlin,  Widow ,  41. 

Chancellor,  Lord  Coke  on  title  of, 
158. 

Characteristics  of  the  early  set- 
tlers, 46,  47. 
3*] 


Index 


Charges  for  repair  of  town  house, 
1667,  l693,apportioned,  89, 90. 

Charles  I,  charter  of,  9,  145,  19*. 

Charles  II,  151,  152,  157,  l6l, 
162,  169,  170. 

Charlestown,  3, 1 1, 13,  35,  36,  44, 
177,  187,  11*,  12*. 

Charlestown  ferry,  11;  revenues 
granted  to  Harvard  College,  31. 

Charter,  97,  100,  107. 

Charter  and  Indian  titles  safe- 
guarded by  General  Court  order 
of  1686,  174. 

Charter  members  of  the  colony,  9. 

Charter  rights  and  privileges  de- 
fended, 1664,  1665,  163. 

Charter,  first,  1629,  see  Colony 
charter. 

Charter,  second,  16Q1,  see  Prov- 
ince charter. 

Checkley,  Jo.,  63. 

Cheesholme,  Thorn.,  7*. 

Cheever,  Bartholomew,  62. 

Chelmsford,  town  of,  149. 

Chickering,  Henry,  of  Dedham, 
150. 

Chimney-sweeping,  102. 

Christ  College,  Oxford,  whipping 
at,  16*. 

"Christian  Commonwealth,"  by 
John  Eliot  of  Roxbury,  sup- 
pressed by  General  Court,  153. 

Christmas  observance,  a  crime  by 
order  of  General  Court,  148; 
under  Andros  government  dis- 
tasteful to  colonists,  181. 

Church  controversy  between  Ca- 
valier and  Puritan,  140,  141. 

Church  meetings,  fine  for  ab- 
sence from,  18,  129. 

[  34 


Church  of  England :  and  Puritan 
intolerance,  128,  129;  ceremo- 
nies denounced  by  Samuel 
Mather,  1660, 124;  first  service 
in  town  house,  94;  organized 
in  Boston,  June  15,  1686,  137, 
203;  to  be  countenanced  and 
encouraged,  1686,  176. 

Church  of  England  services:  in 
Exchange,  139;  in  library 
chamber,  137,  138;  in  town 
house,  78, 127/:,  136;  in  South 
Meeting-house,  141,  142. 

Church  of  King's  Chapel,  see 
King's  Chapel. 

Churches,  rules  as  to  admission 
of  new,  20,  21. 

City  hall,  repository  of  town  rec- 
ords, 118. 

Clark,  an  Episcopalian,  1 686, 139. 

Clark,  Daniel,  fined,  26. 

Clarke,  John,  132. 

Clarke,  Nath"-,  112,  115. 

Clarke,  Thomas,  the  chirurgeon, 
51,  56. 

Clarke,  Thomas,  Capt.  (later  Ma- 
jor), 59,  157,  159. 

Clarke,  Thomas,  locksmith,  63. 

Clarke,  Walter,  113. 

Clarke,  William,  whipped,  6*. 

Claytr,  Mary,  of  Watertown,  133. 

Clement,  Augusten,  60. 

Cloements,  Vriah  (alias  John 
Ball),  branded,  15*. 

Cloth  and  linen,  spinning  and 
weaving  of,  recommended,  30. 

Clothing,  order  as  to  expensive 
and  dressy,  16, 17;  regulations 
concerning  price  of,  14,  20.  See 
also  Apparel. 

*] 


Index 


dough,  John,  61. 

Clough,   Samuel,   clock-mender, 

113. 
Cog(g)an,  John,  59;  house  and 

shop  of,  6 ;  witness  in  court,  1 9. 
Coggan,  Henry,  6*. 
Coke,  Lord,  on  title  of  chancellor, 

158. 
Colburn,  Will,  62. 
Cole,  Mrs.  Anna,  late  relict  of 

Capt.  Keayne,  150. 
Cole,  Peter,  whipped,  12*. 
Cole,  Samuel,  6l;  house  of,  3;  on 

committee  for  contract  of  town 

house,  65. 
Collaine,  Matthew,  whipped,  8*. 
Collens,  John,  6l. 
Colman,  Alexander,  whipped  and 

sent  out  of  town,  1 3*. 
Colonial  acts  allowed  and  disal- 
lowed under  charter  of  1691, 

109. 
Colonial  courts  held  monthly  in 

east  room   of  second  floor   of 

town  house,  76. 
Colonial  Laws  quoted,  69    note, 

ISO  note. 
Colony,  assistants  in  the,  9,  145, 

146;  first   postmaster   of,  29; 

worship  in  the,  127. 
Colony  and  crown  contest  begins 

in  town  house,  1665,  163. 
Colony  and  town  before  building 

of  town  house,  1-47. 
Colony  and  town    uses  of  town 

house,  69-79. 
Colony    called    by  royalists    the 

"Corporation  of  Boston,"  146. 
Colony  charter  of  Charles  1, 1629, 

ix,  9,  97,  100,  107,  126,  145, 


19*;  act  concerning  safekeep- 
ing of,  in  1664,  156,  157;  ad- 
ditional order  as  to  safe  cus- 
tody, 1679,  168;  authority  of 
courts  under,  145;  forfeiture 
proceedings  in  England,  157; 
immediate  effects  of  revocation 
of,  175,  176;  original  members 
under,  9 ;  petitions  to  king  and 
Parliament,  1660,  for  confirma- 
tion of,  151 ;  revoked,  May  17, 
1686, 173 ;  rights  and  privileges 
maintained  by  Massachusetts 
colony,  1664,  1665,  163;  sur- 
render stoutly  opposed,  1684, 
100,  101,  107;  use  of  town 
house  by  colony  government 
under,  145-71. 

Colony  conditions  during  Dudley 
administration,  198. 

Colony  courts,  partial  statement 
of  punishments  inflicted  by 
orders  of,  3*-l7*;  use  of  town 
house  by,  69,  93. 

Colony  government,  8,  9;  and 
Stuart  dynasty  conflict,  147; 
controlled  by  Puritan  church, 
1 1 ;  use  of  town  house  by, 
1659-86,  145-71. 

Colony  law  of  1646  on  marriage, 
130. 

Colony  laws  published  and  posted 
in  town  house,  107. 

Colony  Laws,  see  Colonial  Laws. 

Colony  of  the  Massachusetts,  90. 

Colony  post-office,  29- 

Colony  records,  kept  in  town 
house,  93,  111;  now  known  as 
the  Massachusetts  Archives, 
118. 


[  35*] 


Index 

"Colony    Records"    referred   to,  Contractors  for  town  house,  65, 

168,  3*  67. 

Colony  tax,  10,  12,  13,  17,  41.  Contributions  toward  building  of 

Colony  treasury  in  town  house,  town  house,  58-64. 

93.  Conway,  Davyd,  whipped,  9"*. 

Commissioners,  of  colony  sent  to    Cook,  Mr. ,  1694,  193. 

England,    l66l,   155;   of   the  Cooke,  Dr.  Elisha,  100,  122,  183, 

United  Colonies,  94.  184. 

Commissioners,  royal,  and  Massa-  Cooke,  Francis,  fined,  106. 

chusetts  Colony  in  1664, 1665,  Cooke,  Lieut.  Richard,  59,  63. 

163.  Cooper's  Tavern,  193. 

Committee,  of    military    affairs,  Coote,  Richard,  Earl   of  Bello- 

1 7, 1 9 ;  on  contract  for  building  mont,  governor  of  Massachu- 

of  town  house,  65;  on  plan  for  setts  Province,  New  Jersey  and 

town  house,  56;  to  meet  Gov-  New  Hampshire,  1699-1700, 

ernor  Dudley,  195.  x,  194,  197,  19*. 

Common,    the    Boston,    8,    103,  Corey,  Giles,  pressed  to  death  by 

149;  pirates  hanged  on,  180.  heavy  weights,  190. 

Common    Prayer,  Book  of,  121,  Corn,  as  payment  of  taxes,  12; 

124,  126,  127,  129,  130,   136,  price  of,  8,  13,  18,  155. 

138;  among  early  gift  of  books  Corn-Hill,  the,  early   centre  of 

in  1629,  121,  122.  book-business,  85;  part  of  pre - 

Concord  river,  plantation  on,  23.  sent  Washington  street,  3. 

Conduit  provided  for  in  will  of  "Corporation  of  Boston,"  name 

Capt.  Keayne,  50-7;  building  of  royalists  for  the  entire  col- 

of  it  abandoned,  57,  58.  ony,  146. 
Coney,  John,  60.  Corpus    Christi    College,    Cam- 
Congregational  meeting-houses  in  bridge,  England,  whipping  at, 

Boston,  1686,  136,  137.  16*. 

Connecticut  Colony,  member  of  Correction,  house  of,  12, 149, 150. 

the  United   Colonies,  confed-  Corser,  William,  62. 

eracy,   1670,  166;   submits  to  Cotcree,  Thomas,  whipped,  10*. 

demands  of  royal  commission-  Cotton,  Rev.  John  (1585-1652), 

ers,  1665,  162,  164.  5,  203. 

Constable(s),  7,   10,  13,  20,  33,  Cotton,  William,  63 ;  censured  by 

96,  105,  153,  4*,  13*.  General  Court,  158. 

Construction  of  town  house,  49-  Coudrey,   William,   of  Redding, 

68.  149. 

Contract   for   building   of  town  Council,  the    chief  executive  of 

house,  65-7.  colony,  July,  1701  -June,  1 702, 

[  36*] 


Index 


195, 19* ;  work  and  importance 
of,  under  Dudley  and  Andros, 
178,  181,  182. 

Council  chamber  on  second  floor 
of  town  house,  76,  93;  re- 
paired, 92. 

Council  for  the  Safety  of  the  Peo- 
ple and  Conservation  of  the 
Peace,  11 6,  186. 

"  Council  house,"  name  for  town 
house  under  Dudley  and  An- 
dros,  1686-9,  115,  117,  136, 
173,  174,  178. 

Council  orders,  11 2, 116, 177,181. 

Council  records,  108. 

Country  rate  allowed  by  General 
Court  toward  building  of  town 
house,  69. 

Court,  actions  of  the,  10,  11,  12, 
15,  16. 

Court  house,  see  Town  house. 

Court  house  on  Court  street  later 
place  for  sittings  of  the  courts, 
118. 

Court  of  appeals  instituted,  34. 

Court  of  assistants,  11, 17, 18, 19; 
decisions  and  regulations  of, 
20,  22;  meetings  of,  28,  29, 
118;  number  of  members,  78, 
153;  records  of  the,  118,  3*. 

Court  records,  order  passed  in 
1639  in  regard  to  keeping  of, 
28. 

Court  street  formerly  Queen 
street,  3. 

Court  uses  of  town  house,  69,  9S. 

Courts  held  on  second  floor  of 
town  house,  74,  76. 

Courts,  authority  of,  under  colony 
charter,  145. 

[  m 


Coward,  John  Herbert,  113,  115. 

Coxeshall,  Mr.  ,  13. 

Coy,  Matthew,  chirurgeon,  104. 
Cribb,  Beniamyn,  whipped,  3*. 
Crocket,  Mrs.  Elisabeth,  14*. 

Crofts,  Captain ,  195. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  death  of,  148. 
Crown  and  colony  contest  begins 

in  town  house  in  1665,  163. 
Current  pay,  money  for,  17. 
Custodians  of  colony  charter  in 

1664  and  1679,  157,  169. 

Danforth,  Rev.  John  (1650- 
1730),  94. 

Danforth,  Thomas  (1622-99),  89, 
183,  184,  193. 

Darland,  Phillip,  fined,  14*. 

Date  of  charters,  19*. 

Date  of  the  "foure  greate  Quar- 
ter Courts,"  Boston,  21. 

Dauis,  Captain,  57. 

Dauis,  James,  6l. 

Dauis,  Thomas,  12*. 

Dauis,  Wm.,  59. 

Dauling,  David,  whipped,  10*. 

Davenport,  Lieut.  Richard  (1606- 
65),  paid  for  charges  disbursed 
for  slaves,  26,  5*,  7*. 

Davice,  Sam11,  6l. 

David,  a  servant,  96. 

Davies,  Jenken,  whipped,  9*. 

Davies,  John,  whipped,  5*. 

Dawes,  John,  overseer  of  youths, 
104. 

Day  of  public  humiliation,  1 7, 1 48. 

Day  of  public  thanksgiving,  148. 

Death  penalty  for  adultery,  12; 
for  heresy,  149,150;  for  witch- 
craft, 189,  190. 

*] 


Index 


Death  sentence  passed  on  Qua- 
kers, 149,  150. 

Deaths,  provision  for  recording, 
1642,  34. 

Deceased  wife's  sister  question, 
135,  166,  15*. 

Declaration :  against  the  power  of 
the  Pope,  167,  168;  as  to  the 
Quakers,  l66l,  150;  of  indul- 
gence by  James  II,  179;  of 
Prince  of  Orange,  1689,  183; 
Royal,  of  July  26,  1683,  101, 
107,  157. 

"Declaration,  The,  of  the  Gentle- 
men, Merchants,  and  inhab- 
itants of  Boston  and  the  Coun- 
try Adjacent,"  1689,  184. 

Dedham,  149,  150,  207. 

Defendant's  rights  and  duties 
denned,  53. 

Denison,  Daniell  (1 613-82),  over- 
seer of  Capt.  Keayne's  will, 
58. 

Deputies  and  monthly  colonial 
courts,  meeting-place  of,  76. 

Deputies  to  the  General  Court, 
5,  8,  15. 

Deputies,  Capt.  Thomas  Savage 
speaker  of,  147;  instructions 
given  to,  100;  number  of,  22, 
78,  79;  rights  and  privileges 
under  colony  charter,  15,  145; 
sittings  of,  separated  from 
those  of  magistrates,  36. 

Deputy  governor,  6,  9, 10, 12, 13, 
178. 

Dewer,  Thomas,  62. 

"Diary"  of  Judge  Sewall,  see 
Sewall's  "Diary." 

Dice  prohibited  by  law,  11,  165. 


Dickerson,  Thomas,  whipped  and 
made  slave,  6*. 

Disallowance  of  colonial  acts, 
109. 

Discrimination  against  Papists, 
167,  168,  188. 

Distances  measured  from  town 
house,  96. 

Divorce,  decrees  concerning  nul- 
lity of  marriage  and,  1639,  29, 
30. 

Dixon,  William,  set  in  the  bil- 
bowes,  4*. 

' ( Doctrine  of  Divine  Providence,' ' 
1 684,  by  Increase  Mather,  85. 

Dorchester,  10,  26. 

Douse,  Francis,  60. 

Dragon  Inn,  see  Green  Dragon 
Inn. 

Drill  room  of  Artillery  Company, 
93,  94. 

Drinking,  order  against  exces- 
sive, 1645,  39. 

Drinking  healths,  order  passed 
against,  1639,  26,  27;  order 
repealed,  1645,  42;  forbidden 
again,  l66l,  153,  156;  over-in- 
dulgence bewailed  by  Sewall, 
95. 

Drury,  Hugh,  6l. 

Ducking  for  scolding,  famous  or- 
der as  to  (1672),  166. 

Dudley,  Joseph  (1647-1720), 
112,  113,  115,  136;  and  Gen- 
eral Court  at  discord  for  some 
time  after  1702,  197,  198;  go- 
vernor, 1702-14,  x,  195,  203, 
204, 19*;  imprisoned,  1 689,  by 
Bradstreet  government,  196, 
197 ;  institutes  Church  of  Eng- 


[  38*  ] 


Index 


land  services  in  town  house, 
126,  130,  139,  140;  order  con- 
cerning solemnization  of  mar- 
riages, 130,  131;  president  of 
"Massachusetts,  Maine,  Nova 
Scotia  and  the  lands  between," 
1686, 173, 182,  19*;  resides  at 
Roxbury,  196. 

Dudley,  Major,  see  Dudley,  Jo- 
seph. 

Dudley,  Thomas  (1576-1652), 
deputy  governor,  6;  commis- 
sioned sergeant  major-general, 
1644,  36. 

Dudley,  Capt.  Thomas,  keeper 
of  public  office  and  writings 
under  town  house,  1689,  116. 

Dumer,  Jer.,  Philosophiae  Dr. 
(1680-1739),  95. 

Dunier,  Capt.  Jer.,  199- 

Duncan,  Nathan,  62. 

Duncan,  Peter,  62. 

Dunster,  John,  6. 

Dunton,  John  (1659-1733),  en- 
tertained in  town  house,  1685, 
94;  quotation  from,  45,  76. 

Dutton,  John,  whipped,  7*. 

Dwight,  Mr.  Seth,  207. 

Dyer,  Giles,  keeper  of  town  clock, 
105. 

Dyer,  Mary,  Quakeress,  banished, 
and,  returning,  hanged,  149, 
150,  151. 

Eales,  John,  beehive-maker,  39- 
Early  colonists,  characteristics  of, 

46,  47. 
Eavens,  David,  63. 
Edsell,  Thomas,  59. 
Edwards,  David,  122. 


Edwards, Mathewe, whipped,  5*. 

Eire,  Simon,  60. 

Elders'  and  ministers'  room  in 
town  house,  51,  53. 

Eliot,  Benjamin,  bookseller,  83, 
85. 

Eliot,  Rev.  John  (1604-90),  153. 

Eliott,  Deacon,  106. 

Emons,  Tho.,  60. 

Endicott,  John  (1589-1665),  58; 
charter  member  of  the  colony, 
9;  governor,  1655-65,  x,  147, 
154,  156,  161,  19*. 

English  law  and  the  revocation 
of  the  colony  charter,  1686, 
175,  176;  sovereigns,  19*. 

English  universities  and  colleges, 
whipping  at,  16*. 

English,  William,  61. 

Entertainment  of  strangers,  7. 

Episcopal  services,  see  Church  of 
England  services. 

Equity  jurisdiction  in  the  colony, 
first  exercise  of,  34. 

"  Essay,  An,  for  the  recording 
of  Illustrious  Providence,"  by 
Increase  Mather,  86. 

Euered,  John,  58. 

Eueritt,  James,  60. 

Excessive  drinking,  order  against, 
1645,  39. 

Exchange  and  staircases  protected 
by  order  of  selectmen,  75 ;  called 
the  "lower  room,"  1709,  75; 
drill  room  for  Artillery  Com- 
pany, 94 ;  on  first  floor  of  town 
house,  74 ;  used  for  Church  of 
England  services,  139- 

Excommunication  from  Church 
and  its  results,  25,  26. 


[  39*] 


Index 


Extravagance  of  people  of  Bos- 
ton in  dress  denounced  and 
bewailed  by  Increase  Mather, 
208. 

Eyre,  John,  11 6,  117. 

Fairbanks,  Richard,  of  Boston, 
first  postmaster  of  the  colony, 

29- 
Fairefeild,  Daniell,  whipped,  43, 

9*. 

Fairfax,  George,  branded  and 
whipped,  14*. 

Fairweather,  Thomas,  house  of,  3. 

Falmouth,  town  of,  151. 

Faneuil  Hall  later  place  for  town 
meetings,  118. 

Farnam,  John,  63. 

Farny,  Thomas,  appointed  bell- 
ringer,  105. 

Farthings,  no  current  pay,  17. 

Fasts,  sermons  and  lectures  in 
town  house  disapproved  by  An- 
dros,  180,  181. 

Fauor,  Goodman,  at  Rumny 
Marsh,  104. 

Fay,  Thomas,  6l. 

Fellingham,  Francis,  of  Salem, 
10*. 

Felton,  Beniamyn,  4*. 

Ferry  between  Boston  and  Win- 
netsemett,  38,  106. 

Ferry  to  Charlestown,  1 1 ;  reve- 
nues granted  to  Harvard  Col- 
lege, 31. 

Ferry  to  Weymouth,  38. 

Festivities,  use  of  town  house 
for,  95. 

Financial  ability  the  basis  of  tax- 
ation, 16. 


Finch,  Katherine,  whipped  and 
committed,  43,  5*. 

Fire  destroys  town  house  in  1 71 1, 
201  - 1 2 ;  orders  as  to  danger  of, 
70,  98,  104,  105. 

Fires,  in  early  history  of  Boston, 
204,  205;  referred  to  by  In- 
crease Mather  and  others,  207, 
208,  211. 

First  charter,  see  Colony  charter. 

Fisher,  Capt.  Daniel,  custodian 
of  colony  charter,  1679,  169. 

Fitch,  Thomas,  6l. 

Flint,  captain  and  shipmaster,  83, 
84. 

Food,  but  no  payment,  for  select- 
men, 7. 

Foote,  Henry  Wilder, "  Annals  of 
King's  Chapel,"  131,  143. 

Foreigner's  suit  against  settled 
inhabitant,  decision  concern- 
ing (1644),  37. 

Forfeiture  of  colony  charter  in 
England,  proceedings  for,  157. 

Fortification  of  Castle  Island,  16. 

Foster,  Capt.  John,  94,  11 6,  117. 

Foster,  John,  astrophil,  85. 

"Foure  greate  Quarter  Courts" 
at  Boston,  21. 

Foxe,  Thomas,  whipped,  11. 

Foxes,  bounties  on,  24. 

Foxhill,  106. 

Frary,  Lieutenant ,  13*. 

Free  school  at  Roxbury  founded 
in  1660,  151. 

Freedom  of  the  press,  suppressed 
by  act  of  General  court,  1665 
and  1667,  164,  165;  again  reg- 
ulated, 1681,  169;  restricted 
by  council,  1688-9,  181. 


[  40*] 


Index 


Freemen,  8,  10,  11,  15,  97,  100, 
101,  145,  146,  153. 

Freemen,  alone  have  right  to 
vote,  20;  must  be  members  of 
churches  within  town  limits, 
11. 

Freemen,  act  modifying  condi- 
tions for  becoming,  160,  l6l; 
rights  and  privileges  of,  22,  23. 

French,  Lieutenant ,  149. 

French  and  Indian  wars  impov- 
erish colony,  189- 

Frost,  Nicholas,  whipped  and 
branded,  3*. 

Fur-trade  with  Indians,  33. 

Gaming  prohibited  by  law,  11, 
165. 

Gammage,  John,  whipped,  10*. 

Garland,  John,  whipped,  8*. 

Gatchell,  Joseph,  pilloried,  muti- 
lated, &c,  44,  15*. 

Gedney,  Mr. ,  1694,  193. 

Gedney,  Capt. ,  1686,  173. 

Gedney,  Bartholomew,  112. 

Geffries,  David,  139- 

Gell,  Richard,  runaway,  whipped, 
10*. 

General  Assembly,  174.  See  also 
General  Court. 

General  Assembly  under  province 
charter,  192. 

General  Court,  1,  5,  15,  17,  97, 
107,  108,  111,  126,  145,  173, 
174,  187,  188,  189,  190,  194, 
195,  197,  202,  205. 

General  Court,  Acts,  laws,  orders, 
and  recommendations  of,  5, 14, 
16,17-20,22-6,29-46,69,74, 
89,90,91,98,99,111,116-17, 

[  41 


128,  134,  135,  147-57,  158, 
164-6,  171,  174,  205. 

General  Court:  acts  disallowed  by 
Privy  Council,  193,  194;  ad- 
dresses King  Charles  II  on 
preservation  of  charter,  1664, 
l6l,l62;and  Governor  Dudley 
at  discord  for  some  time,  197, 
198;  and  other  courts  use  the 
town  house,  69;  chooses  assis- 
tants, or  councillors  of  gover- 
nor, 188;  committee  to  hear 
and  determine  petitions  and 
other  private  business,  24 ;  de- 
puties, number  from  each  town, 
22,  78,  79;  expenses  to  be  paid 
proportionately  by  the  several 
towns,  39,  69 ;  holds  two  meet- 
ings a  year,  21 ;  prevents  town 
meetings  in  town  house,  69, 
70;  probably  meets  in  large 
room  of  town  house,  77;  suc- 
ceeded, in  1692,  by  the  Great 
or  General  Court  or  Assembly, 
188. 

General  Court,  first  meeting  in 
town  house,  147;  grants  made 
to  governor  and  officials,  but  no 
fixed  salaries,  195,  197,  198; 
instruction  to  representatives 
or  deputies  to  the,  100;  powers 
of  the,  1 5 ;  use  of  town  house, 
by,  93. 

General  town  meetings,  5,  6,  8, 
49,  56.  See  also  Town  meetings. 

George,  Capt. ,  1686,  141. 

Gerrish,  John,  104. 

Gibbs,  Mary,  punished,  12*. 

Gibbs,  Robert,  leases  part  of 
place   under  town  house,  74; 


Index 


rents  cellar  under  town  house 
for  fifty-one  years,  81,  82. 

Gibson,  Christopher,  6l. 

Gibson,  William,  6l. 

Gifts  to  the  library  in  the  town 
house,  120. 

Gillam,  Goodman,  10*. 

Glover,  Mr.  Ralfe,  3*. 

Glover,  Rev.  John,  6. 

Goodwin,  Edward,  62. 

Gookin,  Capt.  Daniel  (1612-87), 
press  censor  (1662),  156,  164. 

Gookin,  Sheriff ,  108,  109. 

Gorton,  Samuel  (1 600-7  7),  de- 
clared a  blasphemer  and  con- 
fined to  Charlestown,  35,  36. 

Government  of  the  colony,  8  ff. 

Governor,  5, 6,  7,  9, 10, 12, 13, 1 8. 

Governor  and  Company  of  the 
Mattachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England,  9. 

Governor  and  council,  attempt 
seizure  of  records  from  Raw- 
son,  1 12- 14;  occupy  west  room 
of  second  floor  of  town  house, 
76. 

Governor  and  deputy  governor 
first  chosen  from  among  the 
assistants,  10. 

Governor  does  not  receive  fixed 
salary,  but  only  a  grant,  195, 
197,  198. 

Governor,  beadle  for  the,  9« 

Governor,  deputy  governor  and 
council  in  Andros's  adminis- 
tration, 178. 

Governor's  Island,  rent  of,  18. 

Governors,  succession  of,  19*- 

Granary  in  town  house,  93,  95. 

Grand  juries  ordered  by  General 


Court,  19;  payment  of,  20. 

Grants  made  by  General  Court 
to  governor  and  officials,  195, 
197,  198. 

Gray,  Thomas,  whipped  and  ban- 
ished, 5*. 

Great  or  General  Court  or  As- 
sembly successor  to  General 
Court,  1692—,  188. 

Great  street,  the  present  State 
street,  3,  201. 

Green  Dragon  Inn,  93,  199- 

Green,  Bartholomew(l  666-1 732), 
printer,  86,  87. 

Green,  John,  banished,  25. 

Green,  Samuel  (1615-1702), 
printer,  86,  184. 

Greene,  Jn°,  "marshall  general," 
170. 

Greene,  Nathaniell,  62. 

Grenleff,  Edmond,  60. 

Gridley,  Richard,  59. 

Griffin,  Jn<>-,  buried,  139. 

Hale,  Mr. ,  1690,  180. 

Hales,  Sarah,  fined  or  whipped, 
7*. 

Hampton,  town  of,  149. 

Hams,  Marke,  63. 

Hanging  of  Quakers,  149. 

Harris,  Benjamin,  bookseller,  184. 

Harrison,  Wm.,  the  "Bodies- 
maker,"  138. 

Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  26, 
35,  120;  cases  of  whipping  at, 
15*,  16*;  contributions  of  the 
several  towns  toward,  38;  gov- 
ernment and  direction  of,  estab- 
lished by  General  Court,  1642, 
35;    incorporation    act    disal- 


[  42*] 


Index 


lowed  by  Privy  Council,  194; 

library,  125,  127;  revenues  of 

ferry    between     Boston     and 

Charlestown  granted  to,  31. 
Harwood,  Thomas,  60. 
Haslewood,  John,  whipped  and 

made  a  slave,  5*. 
Hatch,  Jonathan,  whipped,  7*. 
Hatchet,  William,  condemned  to 

be  hanged,  33. 
Hathaway,  John,  whipped  and 

banished,  5*. 

Hathorne, ,  193. 

Hawkines,  John,  6l. 

Hawkins,  James,  defendant,  19. 

Hawkins,  James,  whipped  and 

bound  over,  8*. 
Hawkins,  Jane,  twice  banished, 

25,  32. 
Hawkins,  Thomas,  whipped  and 

bound  over,  8*. 
Hayman,  John,  104. 
Haywood,  John,  of  Boston,  no- 
tary, 83. 
Health,  drinking  to  oneanother's, 

see  Drinking  healths. 
"Heaven's  Alarm  of  the  World," 

a  sermon  by  Increase  Mather, 

86. 
Hely,  Goodman,  whipped,  16*. 
Henberry,  Luke,  punished,  5*. 
Henly,  George,  tallow  chandler, 

131,  132. 

Heron,  Capt. ,  195. 

Hett,  Anne,  whipped,  10*. 
Hewes,  Joshua,  60. 
Heyman,  Peter,  133,  134. 
Hickbourne,  Davy,  whipped,  8*. 
Higgs,  John,  Cloth worther,  131, 

132. 

[  43*] 


High  street,  the  present  Washing- 
ton street,  3,  201. 

Highways,  general  order,  1639, 
for  laying  out  of,  29. 

Hill,  Bartholomew,  whipped,  10. 

Hill,  Mr. ,  63. 

Hill,  the  shoemaker,  142. 

Hincks,  John,  112. 

Hindersam,  Margaret,  punished, 
6*. 

Hinkley,  Thomas,  112. 

Hingham,  town  of,  149;  author- 
ized to  use  meeting-house  for 
a  watch-house,  26. 

Hobby,  Major  Charles,  196. 

Honywell,  Mary,  of  Boston,  134. 

Hook,  Mr.  ,  1694,  193. 

Hope,  the  Indian,  whipped,  7*. 

Houchin  (Howchin),  Jer.,  64; 
of  committee  on  plan,  and  on 
contract  for  town  house,  56, 
65. 

House  of  correction,  12, 149,150. 

Houses,  construction  and  mate- 
rial of  first,  6. 

Howard,  John,  scribener,  83. 

Howard,  Will,  keeps  "wrighting 
schoole,"  105. 

Howe,  Joseph,  6l. 

Howkins,  Tho.,  59. 

Hubbard,  Capt.  Joshua,  of  Hing- 
ham, 149. 

Hubbert,  John,  wire-drawer,  1 03, 
105. 

Hudson,  Francis,  106. 

Hudson,  John,  whipped,  9*> 

Hudson,  Willm,  59. 

Hull,  John  (1624-83),  59;  agent 
to  make  contract  for  building 
of  town  house,  65. 


Index 


Hull,  Mrs. ,11*. 

Humfrey, ,  9*. 

Hussie,  Lieutenant  Christopher, 
of  Hampton,  149. 

Hutchinson,  Edward,  Sen.  (1613- 
75),  of  committee  on  plan  for 
town  house,  56. 

Hutchinson,  Edward,  agent  to 
make  contract  for  building  of 
town  house,  65. 

Hutchinson,  Eliakim,  194,  195. 

Hutchinson,  Col.  Elisha,  193, 199- 

Hutchinson,  Mrs.  Ann,  fined  and 
banished,  23. 

Hutchinson,  Samuel,  59- 

Hutchinson's  Collection  or  His- 
tory referred  to,  121, 122,  131, 
136,  146  note?,  178,  179,  184. 

Incest,  bill  against,  135. 

Incorporation  act  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege disallowed  by  Privy  Coun- 
cil, 194. 

Incorporation  of  Boston  as  city 
or  borough,  1709,  voted  down, 
198. 

Increase  of  population  ceases  from 
1705-11,  198. 

Indian  corn,  price  of,  8. 

Indian  fur- trade,  33. 

Indian  runaway  whipped,  7*. 

Indian  titles  safeguarded  by 
General  Court  order  of  1686, 
174. 

Indian  wars  impoverish  colonists, 
175,  189. 

Indians,  11,  33;  selling  powder 
to,  punished,  4  * ;  special  action 
with  regard  to  protection  a- 
gainst  attacks  of,  1642,  34-6. 

[  44 


Inhabitants,  status  and  duties  of, 
7,  8,  15,  25,  37. 

Innocent  VIII,  Pope,  on  witch- 
craft, 191. 

Inns  and  innkeepers,  and  regula- 
tions concerning,  16,24,29,  39. 

Instructions  given  to  representa- 
tives or  deputies  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  100. 

Ipswich,  5  *,  8  * ;  quarterly  courts 
established  for,  21,  31;  re- 
corder appointed  for,  31;  se- 
lectmen fined,  1686-7,  for  pro- 
test against  taxation,  178. 

Jacklin,  Edmund,  57,  6l. 

Jackson,  Edmund,  6l. 

Jacob,  John,  merchant,  132. 

James  II,  addressed  by  colonists, 
171 ;  first  declaration  of  indul- 
gence, April  4, 1687,  179;  pro- 
claimed king  in  Boston,  April 
20,  1685,  170. 

Jeffrey,  Jane,  whipped,  10*. 

Jesson,  Jacob,  fined,  11*. 

Joanes,  Richrd,  whipped,  6*. 

Johnson,  Capt.   ,   of  Woo- 

borne,  149. 

Johnson,  Capt.  ,  custodian 

of  charter,  1664,  157. 

Johnson,  Abigaile,  whipped,  12  *, 
13*. 

Johnson,  James,  62 ;  overseer  of 
Capt.  Keayne's  will,  58. 

Jones,   Mr.  ,  schoolmaster, 

104. 

Josselyn,  John,  76. 

Joy,  Thomas,  6l ;  one  of  the  two 
contractors  for  building  of  town 
house,  65,  67. 

*] 


Index 


JoylifFe,  Jno,  60. 

Judge  and  parties  must  not  be 

relatives,  35. 
Juries,  payment  of,  20. 
Justices  of  the  peace,  9- 

Keayne,  Anna,  grandchild  of 
Capt.  Keayne,  150. 

Keayne,  Benjamin,  son  of  Capt. 
Keayne,  120. 

Keayne,  Robert  (1595-1656), 
89,  95, 119, 122, 126, 138, 150, 
201 ;  enables  building  of  town 
house,  49-55 ;  first  commander 
of  the  Ancient  and  Honour- 
able Artillery  Company,  49; 
first  free  library  in  America 
provided  for  by,  52,  119,  120; 
house  of,  5,  49;  will  of,  49-55. 

Keayne,  Willson,  brother  of  Capt. 
Keayne,  120. 

Keayne  family,  act  of  General 
Court  concerning,  150. 

Keith,  G.,  Episcopal  minister, 
196. 

Kemble,  Henry,  60. 

Kempe,  John,  whipped  and  com- 
mitted, 43,  5  * 

King  of  England,  the  real  owner 
of  colony  land  and  property, 
1686,  175,  176. 

King  street,  now  State  street,  64. 

King's  Chapel,  136,  138;  library, 
125;  records,  78,  137,  138, 
185. 

"King's  Chapel  Annals,"  131, 143. 

Knap,  James,  of  Watertown,  133. 

Knight,  John,  whipped,  7*. 

Knights,  Mary,  whipped,  44. 

Knopp, ,  fined,  10. 


Knower,  Tho.,  set  in  the  bil- 
bowes,  3*. 

Labour   question  and  order  of 

town  meeting  bearing  on  it,  99- 
Labourers'  and  servants'  pay,  13, 

14,  22. 
Lace,  use  of,  forbidden,   16,  22, 

27. 
Lake,  John,  62. 
Lake,  Thomas,  59,  81. 
Lane,  Edward,  63. 
Lathrop,  Jn°,  115. 
Laurence,  James,  whipped,  7*. 
"Lawes  and  ordinances  of  warr," 

promulgated  by  the  colony  in 

1675,  166. 
Laws  published  in  town  house, 

107-9- 

Lawson,  Mr.,  preacher  (1688), 
180. 

Lechford,  Thomas^  quoted,  5. 

Lecture  day,  5. 

Lecture,  time  of,  14,  15,  30. 

Lectures  in  town  house  disap- 
proved by  Andros,  180,  181. 

Leder,  Thomas,  62. 

Lee,  Rev.  (?) ,  179,  180. 

Lee,  John,  whipped,  15. 

Lemist,  Samell,  60. 

Levidall,  widow  Susannah,  132. 

Leverett,  Major  Genii,  see  Leve- 
rett,  John  (1616-79). 

Leverett,  Hudson,  132,  133. 

Leverett,  John  (1616-79),  gov- 
ernor, 1672-9,  x,  19*;  custo- 
dian of  colony  charter  (1664), 
157;  house  of,  5. 

Leverett  wharf,  140. 

Lewes,  John,  63. 


[45«] 


Index 


Lewes,  wife  of  Robrt,  whipped, 
8*. 

Lewis,  John,  runaway,  whipped, 
10* 

Liberty  of  conscience  in  wor- 
ship allowed  under  province 
charter,  1692,  188. 

Library  in  town  house,  on  second 
floor,  east  room,  78,  119-26; 
prior  to  town  house,  121. 

Library  chamber,  112,  114;  used 
for  Church  of  England  services, 
137,  138. 

Library:  catalogue  made  in  1702- 
4,  122;  gifts  to,  while  in  town 
house,  120,  121;  money  ex- 
pended upon,  in  1683,  122. 

Library  of  Boston  belonging  to 
King's  Chapel,  125. 

Library  of  Harvard  College,  125. 

Lidget,  Charles,  137. 

Linne,  see  Lynn. 

List  of  subscribers  toward  build- 
ing of  town  house,  58-64. 

Littell,  Thomas,  60. 

"Little  rooms  "between  the  two 
chambers  on  second  floor  of 
town  house,  and  selectmen's 
order  concerning,  1708,  76,  78. 

Location  and  dimensions  of  town 
house  as  compared  with  pre- 
sent old  state  house,  l\ff. 

Long  Parliament  and  witchcraft 
trials,  191,  192. 

Lorphelin,  Peter,  a  Frenchman, 
pilloried  and  whipped,  44, 14*. 

Lowel,  John,  60. 

"Lower  room,"  name  for  Ex- 
change, 75. 

Ludlow(e),   Roger  (1590-1665), 

[  46 


one  of  the  early  assistants,  15. 

Lusher,  Capt.  Eliazer,  of  Dedham, 
149,  150. 

Luxford,  James,  whipped  and 
banished,  43,  6*. 

Lying,  act  of  General  Court  a- 
gainst,  1645,  40. 

Lyn,  Henry,  whipped  and  ban- 
ished, 1630,  3*. 

Lynd,  Simon,  63,  112,  114,  115. 

Lynde,  Col.  Joseph,  193. 

Lynn,  town  of,  149,  3*. 

Magistrates'  and  deputies'  sit- 
tings separated,  36. 

Magna  Charta  appealed  to,  x, 
175,  176. 

Maine,  part  of  new  province  un- 
der province  charter  (1692), 
187, 188;  part  of  presidency  of 
Dudley  (1686),  173,  182. 

Makepeace,  Thomas,  60. 

"Man's  Chief  End  to  Glorify 
God,"  by  John  Bailey,  87. 

Manly,  William,  pavier,  91. 

Marblehead,  7*. 

March,  Capt. ,  94. 

Marion,  Samuel,  108. 

Market  day,  5. 

Market  place,  4 ;  underneath  town 
house,  69,  73,  74;  and  meeting 
house,  the  two  centres  of  com- 
munity life,  5,  6. 

Market  street,  the  present  State 
street,  3. 

Marriage  bonds,  copies  of,  131  ff. 

Marriage,  colony  law  of  1646  on, 
130;  Dudley's  order  concern- 
ing solemnization  of,  130,  131; 
of  deceased  wife's  sister,  135, 


Index 


166, 15* ;  order  passed  concern- 
ing,! 639,1 692,  27 ff.,  134,135; 
Puritan  view  of,  130,  135. 

Marriages,  act  of  General  Court, 
1659,  on  solemnization  of,  148, 
149;  record  of,  provided  for  in 
1642,  34. 

Marshal,  Capt. ,  of  Lynn,  1 49. 

Marshall,  Jo.,  6l. 

Marshall,  Thos.,  of  committee  on 
contract  for  town  house,  65. 

Martial  law,  17. 

Mason,  Mr. ,  173. 

Mason,  Raphfe,  62. 

Mason,  Robert,  112,  137. 

Massachusetts  alone  resists  de- 
mands of  royal  commissioners 
(1665),  162,  164. 

Massachusetts  Archives,  111,115, 
131-4. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  chartered  co- 
lony of,  173. 

"  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  Eng- 
land, Acts  and  Laws  of  His 
Majesties  Province  of  the,"  83. 

"  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  Eng- 
land, Our  Province  ofthe,"188. 

Massachusetts,  colony  of  the,  90. 

Massachusetts  colony,  claimed  by 
bishop  of  London  as  part  of 
his  diocese,  135;  records  and 
papers,  117,  118. 

"  Massachusetts  Colony  Re- 
cords," 3*. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
56, 65,184;Proceedings(188l), 
125. 

"  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Nova 
Scotia,  and  the  lands  between," 
173,  182. 

[  47 


Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Maine 
and  Accada,  or  Nova  Scotia, 
combined  into  one  province 
(1692),  under  province  charter, 
187,  188. 

Massachusetts,  Plymouth  and 
Connecticut  form  United  Col- 
onies confederacy  (1670),  166. 

Masson,  Arthur,  6l. 

Material,  used  in  construction  of 
early  houses,  6;  used  in  con- 
struction of  town  house,  72,73. 

Mather,  Rev.,  203. 

Mather,  Rev.  Cotton  (1663-1 728), 
86,  180,  194,  196;  sermon  in 
South  Meeting-house  on  fire  of 
1711,  211;  author  of  "Memo- 
rable Providences  relating  to 
Witchcraft  and  Possessions" 
(1689),  86;  "Short  History  of 
New  England"  (1694),  86. 

Mather,  Rev.  Increase  (1639- 
1723),  82,  85,  86,  101,  180, 
181, 187, 194, 196,  209;  author 
of  "Burnings  Bewailed,"  in  a 
sermon  (1711),  207;  "Doctrine 
of  Divine  Providence"  (1684), 
85 ;  "An  Essay  for  the  Record- 
ing of  Illustrious  Providence," 
86;  "Heaven's  Alarm  of  the 
World,"  a  sermon  (1680),  86; 
"Renewal  of  Covenant,"  a  ser- 
mon (1677),  82. 

Mather,  Samuel  (1626-71),  "A 
Testimony  from  the  Scripture 
against  Idolatry  and  Supersti- 
tion" (Dublin,  1660),  123, 124. 

Matson,  Thomas,  59 ;  house  of,  3. 

Matson,  Sr.,  repairer  of  town 
clock,  105. 

*] 


Index 


Mattachusetts  Bay  in  Newe  Eng- 
land, governor  and  company  of 
the,  9- 

Mattocke,  Samuell,  60. 

Maiiacke  (Maverick),  Mr.  Sam11 
(1602-70),  granted  Noddle's 
Island,  13. 

Maxfield,  James,  assign  of  Rich- 
ard Taylor,  82. 

Maxwell, ,  199. 

Maxwell,  James,  75. 

May,  Ellinor,  whipped,  44,  13*. 

Mayhew,  Rev.  ,  of  Boston, 

141,  203. 

Meadfeild,  town  of,  149- 

Meat  yard,  19- 

Mechanics,  pay  of,  10,  12,  13, 14, 
20,  22. 

Meeting-house,  armory  provided 
in  some  part  of  Boston,  33. 

Meeting-houses,  Congregational, 
in  1686, 136, 137;  first  and  sec- 
ond, 4 ;  first  used  also  for  town 
and  colony  affairs,  5,  6,  49. 

"Memorable  Providences  relat- 
ing to  Witchcraft  and  Pos- 
sessions," by  Cotton  Mather, 
86. 

Meriam,  John,  appraiser,  105. 

Messenger,  Henery,  62. 

Michell,  Jonathan,  see  Mitchel, 
Jonathan. 

Miles,  Nathaniell,  fined,  103. 

Military  affairs,  committee  of,  1 7, 

19. 

Military  training  of  youths  or- 
dered, 1645,  38,  39. 

Military  watch  ordered,  1645,  in 
all  towns,  42. 

Milton,  town  of,  130. 


Ministers  of  Boston,  203. 

Ministers'  sermons  occasioned  by 
fire  of  1711,  207. 

Mitchel,  Jonathan,  press  censor, 
1662  and  1665,  156,  164. 

Monck,  George,  114. 

Money:  expended  upon  the  li- 
brary, 1683,  &c,  122;  for  cur- 
rent pay,  17;  regulations  con- 
cerning scarcity  of,  30,  32. 

Monthly  colonial  courts  in  town 
house,  76. 

Moody,  Rev.  Joshua  (1633-97), 
180,  181. 

Moore,  Joseph,  63. 

Morton,  Rev.  Charles  (1626-98), 
94;  pastor  of  Charlestown 
church,  187. 

Morton,    Mr.    ,   funeral    of 

(1687),  179- 

Moss,    Mrs.   ,  name  of  the 

Scottish  woman  who  caused 
fire  of  1711,  207. 

Muddy  River  bridge  provided 
for,  18. 

Muddy  River  common  land,  106. 

Munioy,  George,  60. 

Musket  bullets  as  payment,  17. 

Mussell,  John,  whipped,  8*. 

Mystic  River,  3. 

Nanney,  Robert,  6l. 

Nash,  Robert,  62. 

Neale,  John,  whipped,  5*. 

Needham,  Goodman,  sexton,  of 

South  Meeting-house,  142. 
Negro,  Anna,  punished,  11*. 
Negus,  Benjamin,  60. 
Negus,  Jabish,  rents  shop  under 

town  house,  84. 


[  48' 


Index 


New  England,  9,  37,  83,  188. 

"New  Hampshire  Historical  So- 
ciety Collections"  (vol.  ii),  79' 

New  state  house  on  Beacon  Hill, 
1798,  118. 

"New  Style"  computation  of 
time,  9- 

New  town  house,  see  Old  state 
house. 

Newbury,  town  of,  24,  149. 

Newe  Towne,  Newtowne  (Cam- 
bridge), 6,  15,  25;  quarterly 
court  at,  21. 

Newgat,  John,  62. 

Newgate,  Joseph,  a  witness  to 
building  contract  of  town 
house,  67. 

Nicholson,  Franc,  112,  115. 

Noble,  John,  compiler  of  "Re- 
cords of  the  Court  of  Assis- 
tants," 3*. 

Noddle's  Island  (East  Boston),  13, 
109. 

Nojce,  Thomas,  of  Sudbury,  149. 

Norden,  Samuel,  6l. 

Norman,  Samuel,  whipped,  26. 

North  Church,  see  Second  Church. 

North  End  Meeting-house,  104; 
destroyed  by  fire  1675,  204. 

Norton,  Rev.  John  (1606-63), 
draws  up  declaration  as  to 
Quakers,  150;  sent  to  Eng- 
land as  commissioner  of  col- 
ony, 155. 

Norton,  Elder ,  120. 

Notice,  posted  on  the  whipping- 
post, 7;  at  the  town  house, 
107-9. 

Nourse,  Mrs. ,  hanged  as  a 

witch,  190. 


Nova  Scotia,  173,  182,  187,  188. 

Nowell,  Samuel  (1634-88),  174. 

Nullity  of  marriage  and  divorce, 

decrees  concerning,  29,  30. 

Oath  containing  the  famous  de- 
claration against  the  power  of 
the  Pope,  167,  168. 

Oath  of  recorder  established  as  to 
form,  33. 

Ockingham,  William,  104. 

Ocrimi,  T(eagu),  whipped,  8*. 

Odle,  Ursula,  whipped  at  Cam- 
bridge, 8*. 

Official  oath  in  judicial  proceed- 
ings in  the  colony,  34. 

Officials  chosen  at  first  town  meet- 
ing in  town  house,  98. 

Old  meeting-house  burned  in 
1711,  207,  211. 

Old  South  Meeting-house  (South 
Church),  4,  137,  203. 

Old  state  house,  the  new  town 
house  (1713),  117;  burned  in 
1747,  117. 

Old  state  house,  present,  and  first 
town  house  compared,  71^! 

Old  town  house,  see  town  house. 

Oliver,  Mrs. ,  whipped,  45. 

Oliver,  Nath.,  11 6. 

Olliuer,  Capt.  James,  58,  63. 

Olliuer,  Peter,  58. 

Orange,  Prince  of,  183. 

Orders  of  the  General  Court,  see 
General  Court,  Acts,  &c. 

Orders  of  selectmen,  see  Select- 
men, orders  of. 

Orders  of  town  meetings,  see 
town  meetings. 

Osborne,  Mary,  whipped,  7*. 


[49*] 


Index 


"  Our  Province  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  in  New  England/' 
name  for  colony,  1692,  188. 

Overseers  of  Capt.  Keayne's  will, 
58. 

Owen,  Hannah  and  Josiah,  pun- 
ished, 15*. 

Owen,  Thomas,  fined  or  whipped, 
7* 

Oxenbridge,  Rev.  John  (1609- 
74),  gives  books  to  town  li- 
brary, 120,  121. 

Paddy,  William,  60;  of  commit- 
tee on  contract  for  town  house, 
65. 

Paige,  Nicholas,  57. 

Paige's  troop,  196. 

Paine,  Will,  58. 

Pally sadoe,  tax  for,  12. 

Palmer,  Edward,  fined,  5*. 

Palmer,  Walter,  tried  for  man- 
slaughter and  acquitted,  10. 

Paper  money,  called  bills  of 
credit,  drive  out  good  money, 
198. 

Papists  discriminated  against, 
167,  168,  188. 

Parker,  John,  "shewmaker,"  63. 

Parker,  Richard,  58. 

Parker,  Sarah,  58. 

Parker's  house,  52. 

Parkes,  Willjam,  89. 

Parliament  petitioned  for  confir- 
mation of  colony  charter,  1660, 
151. 

Patent  of  the  colony,  see  Colony 
charter. 

Pateshall,  Robt,  59- 

Payment,  of  governor  and  offi- 


cials, 195,  197,  198;  of  juries, 
20;  of  labourers  and  servants, 
13,  14,  22;  of  mechanics  and 
artisans,  10,  12,  13,  14,  20, 
22. 

Payment,  corn  as,  12;  musket 
bullets  as,  17. 

Pears,  John,  6l. 

Pecke,  Thomas,  Sr.,  106. 

Pelham,  Capt. ,  199- 

Pendleton,  Capt. ,  63. 

Penn,  James,  59. 

Penyer,  Robert,  whipped,  6*. 

Perry,  John,  runaway,  whipped, 
10*. 

Perry,  Michael,  bookseller,  83, 85, 
87. 

Petitions  to  king  and  Parliament 
for  confirmation  of  colony 
charter,  151. 

Pettet,  Thorn.,  punished,  4*. 

Petty  jury,  payment  of,  20. 

Phillips,  Mr. ,  193. 

Phillips,  Eleazer,  bookseller, 
rents,  1709,  two  shops  under 
town  house,  84,  85. 

Phillips,  Henry,  butcher,  60. 

Phillips,  Henry,  bookseller  and 
publisher,  1677,  82,  85. 

Phillips,  John,  60. 

Phillips,  Nicholas,  60. 

Phillips,  Samuel,  bookseller,  85, 
86,  87. 

Phillips,  Zakary,  63. 

Phips,  Sir  William  (1651  -95),  ar- 
rives with  new  (province)  char- 
ter, 1692, 186;  governor,  1692- 
4,  x,  187,  192,  19*;  recalled  to 
England,  192. 

Pierce,  John,  60. 


[50*] 


Index 


Pierce,  Richard,  printer,  85.  Powning,  Henry,  58;  a  witness 

Pike,    Lieut.    Robert,   of    Salis-  to  building  contract   of  town 

bury,  149-  house,  67. 

Pillory,  the,  42,  44,  45,  11*,  12*,  Prayer  Book  of  Church  of  Eng- 


14*,  15*. 
Pilsberry,  William  and  Dorothy, 

whipped,  7*. 
Piracy  punished,  8*. 
Pirates,  hanged  on  Common,  1 80; 

tried,  69. 


land,  see  Common  Prayer,  Book 
of. 
"President  of  the  Council  for 
the  Safety  of  the  People  and 
the  Conservation  of  the  Peace," 
186. 


Plaintiff's  and  defendant's  rights  President      of       Massachusetts, 

and  duties  denned,  33.  Maine,  Nova  Scotia   and  the 

Player,  Gyles,  whipped  and  com-  lands  between,  173,  182,  19*. 

mitted  a  slave,  6*.  Press  censors,  156,  164,  178. 

Plymouth    Colony,  part   of  the  Press  censorship,  156,  164,  165, 

new  province  under  province  169,  181. 

charter,  187,  188;  part  of  the  Pressing  to  death,  190. 

United  Colonies'  confederacy,  Price,  John  and  Mary,  of  Water- 

166;  submits  to  the  demands  town,  133. 

of  the  royal  commissioners  in  Price,  of  beaver  and  corn,  1 8 ;  of 

1665,  162,  164.  corn  and  other  commodities  to 

Pomery,  Leonard,  punished   for  be  paid  as   taxes    fixed  May, 


manslaughter,  14*. 
Pope,    power    of  the,   and    the 

famous  declaration  against  it, 

167,  168. 
Population   of  Boston  ceases  to 

increase  from  1705-11,  198. 
Porter,  Edward,  60. 
Possessions,  Book  of,  6. 
Posting  notices    and  publishing 

laws  at  the  town  house,  107-9* 
Postmaster  of  Boston,  first,  87. 
Postmaster  in  colony,  first,  29. 
Post-office  of  Boston,  123. 
Post-office  of  the  colony,  1639, 29. 


l66l,  155;  of  Indian  corn,  rye 
and  wheat,  8;  of  provisions, 
clothing,  tools,  &c,  regulated, 
14,  20;  of  wheat  posted 
monthly,  107. 

Prince,  Rev.  John,  120. 

Printing  and  bookselling  busi- 
ness in  and  around  town  house, 
85. 

Prison  Lane  (  =  Queen  street  = 
Court  street),  3,  5,  201. 

Privileges  of  freemen,  22,  23. 

Privy  council  disallows  acts  of 
General  Court,  193,  194. 


Povey,   Thomas,  lieutenant-gov-     Prout,  Capt.  Timothy,  174. 

ernor,  196.  Province    of  the    Massachusetts 

Powder-selling   to   Indians  pun-         Bay  in  New  England,  83, 188. 

ished,  4*.  Province  charter,  l69j,ix,77,19*; 

[51*] 


Index 


brought  to  colony  by  Governor 
Phips,  186;  combines  Massa- 
chusetts, Plymouth,  Maine  and 
Accada  or  Nova  Scotia  into 
one  province,  187,  188. 

Province  charter,  allowance  and 
disallowance  of  colonial  acts 
under,  109;  General  Assembly 
under,  192;  liberty  of  con- 
science in  worship  under,  188; 
nature  and  provisions  of,  187, 
188. 

Province  house,  official  name  for 
town  house  since  1692,  192, 
203. 

"  Province  Laws,"  6  note,  130  note. 

Provincial  government's  use  of 
town  house,  1686-9  and  1692- 
1711,  173-98. 

Provisional  government,  1689- 
92,  183-7;  arrests  Dudley  in 
1689,  196,  197. 

Provisions  of  Captain  Robert 
Keayne's  will  as  to  town  house 
and  its  usefulness,  49-55. 

Prudential  affairs  of  the  town,  7, 
8,  102,  103. 

Public  humiliation,  day  of,  ap- 
pointed, 17,  148. 

Public  library  of  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton, 120. 

Public  library  in  America, 
Keayne's  provisions  for  first 
free,  52,  119,  120. 

Public  library,  use  of  town  house 
for,  119-26. 

Public  matters,  regulations  as  to, 
107. 

Public  prayer,  town  house  as  place 
for,  180. 

[  52 


Public  records  of  the  late  Massa- 
chusetts Colony,  111-15. 

Public  records,  town  house  as 
place  for,  111-18. 

Public  whipping  of  women,  45, 
5*- 15* 

Publishing  acts,  laws,  and  orders, 
7,  107,  108. 

Pudding  Lane,  211. 

Punishments  inflicted  by  orders 
of  the  colony  courts,  42-45, 
3*- 17*. 

Puritan :  and  Cavalier  church  con- 
troversy, 127  ff.,  140,  141 ; 
church  controls  government  of 
colony,  1 1 ;  colonists  overthrow 
Andros's  government,  183, 
185 ;  feeling  as  to  uses  made  of 
town  house,  198,  199;  intoler- 
ance directed  especially  against 
liturgy  of  Church  of  England, 
128,  129;  view  of  marriage, 
130,  135. 

Pynchon,  Major  John  (1621- 
1703),  173. 

Quaker  meeting-house  ap- 
proved, 204,  206. 

Quakers,  death  sentence  passed 
on,  1 49, 150;  laws  against,  1 49  - 
52,  155;  Norton's  declaration 
as  to,  150;  suspension  of  exe- 
cution of  laws  against,  154. 

Quarterly  courts  established  at 
Boston,  Ipswich,  Newe  Towne, 
Salem,  21,  31,  32;  decrees  of, 
26,  27. 

Quebec,  expedition  to,  189- 

Queen  street,  now  Court  street, 
3. 


Index 


Queen's    birthday    celebrations, 

95,  109. 
Quick,  Richard,  whipped,  10*. 

Randall,  Mr. ,  Esq.,  114. 

Randolph,  Edward  (1620-94), 
112,  113,  115,  131,  132,  134, 
136, 137, 138, 139,  173;  brings 
royal  declaration  of  Charles  II 
to  the  colony,  1683, 157 ;  jailed 
by  the  colonists,  183;  licenser 
of  the  press,  178. 

Ransford,  Mr. ,  62. 

Rashdall's,  "Universities  of  Eu- 
rope in  the  Middle  Ages,"  16*. 

RatclifFe,  Rev.  Robert,  Church  of 
England  clergyman,  78,  130, 
134,  135,  136,  137. 

RatlifFe,  Philip,  whipped  and 
banished,  12,  43,  3*. 

Rawson,  Edward  ( 1 6 1 5  -  93),  colo- 
nial secretary,  147,  170;  keeps 
public  records,  111-14;  over- 
seer of  Capt.  Keayne's  will,  58. 

Raynals,  Robert,  62. 

Rayner,  Hennery,  swine  yoker 
and  ringer,  104. 

Raynsford,  Elder  Edward,  100. 

Read,  George,  10*. 

Read,  Goodman,  104. 

Reade,  William,  6l. 

Record  Commissioners'  Reports, 
118. 

Recorder  appointed  for  Ipswich 
and  for  Salem,  31. 

Recorder's  oath  established  as  to 
form,  33. 

Records,  orders  with  regard  to 
keeping,  1639  and  1647,  28, 
111. 

[  53 


Records  of  births,  marriages  and 
deaths  provided  for,  1642,  34. 

Records  of  colony  kept  in  town 
house,  93,  111. 

Records  of  King's  Chapel,  78, 137, 
138,  185. 

Records  of  the  late  Massachusetts 
colony,  111,  115. 

Records  of  the  selectmen,  see 
Selectmen,  records  of. 

Records  of  the  town,  kept  in  town 
house,  99,  HI;  as  far  as  pre- 
served, now  in  the  present  city 
hall,  118. 

"  Records  of  the  Court  of  Assist- 
ants," 3*. 

Redding,  town  of,  149. 

Reference  tables,  19*. 

Regulations  concerning:  beer- 
brewing,  23,  24 ;  price  of  pro- 
visions, clothing,  tools,  &c,  14, 
20;  public  matters,  107;  scar- 
city of  money,  30,  32. 

Religious  intolerance  early  mani- 
fested, 128. 

"Renewal  of  Covenant,"  1677,  a 
sermon,  by  Increase  Mather, 
82. 

Repair  of  the  town  house,  89-92. 

Report  of  committee  on  plan  for 
town  house,  1657,  64,  65. 

Representative  government,  in- 
stituted in  1634,  ix,  15;  ceases 
in  1686,  173. 

Representatives,  see  Deputies. 

Representatives'  room  in  town 
house  altered  and  fitted  up,  91. 

Revocation  of  colony  charter, 
173-5. 

Reynolls,  Nathaniell,  6l. 

*] 


Index 


Rhode  Island  Colony  submits  to 
royal  commissioners'  demands, 
1665,  162,  164. 

Rice,  Joshua,  whipped,  14*. 

Richards,  Mrs. ,  63. 

Richards,  John  (1689),  183,  184. 

Richards,  Capt.  John,  63,  100; 
custodian  of  charter,  1679, 
169. 

Richards,  Major ,  1686,  174. 

Richardson,  Amos,  60. 

Rights  and  privileges  of  charter 
maintained,  1665,  163. 

Rights  and  privileges  of  freemen, 
22,  23. 

Rights  under  Magna  Charta  ap- 
pealed to  in  vain,  175. 

Road  to  Roxbury  early  name  for 
Washington  street,  3. 

Robinson,  Anthony,  whipped,  6*. 

Robinson,  Jane,  whipped,  6*. 

Robinson,  Wm,;  Quaker,  hanged, 
149. 

Robinson,  Esqr.,  of  Antego,  139- 

Rocke,  Joseph,  62. 

Rogers,  Nicholas,  whipped,  10*. 

Rogers,  Rebeckah,  punished  and 
whipped,  43,  44,  11*. 

Rogers  Building,  4,  85. 

"Rose,"  royal  frigate,  183. 

Rosewell,  Sir  Henry,  charter 
member  of  the  colony,  9- 

Roxbury,  43,  153,  199,  5*,  9*; 
fined  by  General  Court,  26; 
granted  five  hundred  acres  to- 
ward maintenance  of  a  free 
school,  1660,  151 ;  residence  of 
Governor  Dudley,  1 96 ;  road  to, 
early  name  for  Washington 
street,  3. 


Royal  commissioners'  demands  of 

surrender  of  charter,  1664-5, 

162-4. 
Royal    declaration    of  July   26, 

1683,  101,  107,  157. 
Rules    as  to  admission   of  new 

churches,  20,  21. 
Rumny  Marsh,  104. 

Russel,  Mr. ,  174,  193. 

Russell,  will  of,  allowed,  19. 
Ryan,  Darby,  whipped,  14*. 
Rye,  price  of,  8. 
Ryswick,  peace  of,  107. 

Sabbath  law,  167. 

Sabbath  profanation  denounced 
by  Increase  Mather,  209. 

Safe-keeping  of  charter,  act  con- 
cerning, in  1664,  156,  157. 

Safety  of  town  house,  order  of 
selectmen  of  March  28,  1659, 
70. 

Saffin,  Mr.  Jn<>,  174. 

Sale  of  goods  and  lands  for  non- 
payment of  taxes,  25. 

Salem,  43,  3*,  5*,  9*,  10*;  or- 
dered to  provide  two  good 
drums  for  warning  purposes, 
1643,  41-2;  quarterly  courts 
established  for,  21,  31;  re- 
corder appointed  for,  31. 

Salisbury,  town  of,  149. 

Salt  monopoly  granted  to  Wins- 
low,  32. 

Salter,  Eneas,  103. 

Salter,  Jabesh,  constable,  105. 

Saltonstall,  Sir  Richard  (1586- 
1658),  charter  member  of  the 
colony,  9;  fined,  10. 

Sampford,  John,  5. 


[54«] 


Index 


Sandford,  Marke,  of  Boston,  mar- 
riner,  133,  134. 

Sanderson,  Robert,  62. 

Sargeant,  Thomas,  Harvard  Col- 
lege student,  whipped,  1 5*,  1 6*. 

Saugus,  town  of,  12. 

Savage,  Capt.  Ephraim,  house  of, 
where  Boston  fire  started  in 
1711,  207. 

Savage,  Capt.  Thomas,  on  com- 
mittee of  plan  for  town  house, 
1657,  56;  speaker  of  deputies, 
147. 

Saw-pit,  the  first,  4. 

Sawyers'  compensation,  court  or- 
der concerning,  12. 

Sayles,  John,  punished  and 
bound  out,  13,  4*. 

Scarlet's  wharf,  196. 

Scarlett,  Robte,"a  known  theife," 
punished,  4*. 

Scates,  the  bricklayer,  made  jail- 
keeper,  1689,  183. 

Scolding,  famous  order  as  to 
ducking  for,  1672,  166. 

Scot,  Capt. ,  196. 

Scotto,  Thomas,  6l. 

Scottow,  Joshua,  100;  of  commit- 
tee on  contracts  for  town  house, 
1657,  65. 

Seale,  Margaret,  whipped  and 
banished,  5*. 

Second  charter,  see  Province 
charter. 

Second  church,  the,  1650,  137. 

Sedgwicke,  Elizabeth,  whipped, 
8*. 

Seely,  Robt.,  master  of  Philip 
Swaddon,  3*. 

Select  townsmen,  see  Selectmen. 

[  55 


Selectmen  of  Boston,  the,  4,  7, 
8,69,81,82,84,89,90,91,93, 
95,  97,  98,  99,  101,  107,  151, 
167,  198,  201,  205;  ask  Gen- 
eral Court's  aid  in  construction 
of  town  house,  69;  meet  on 
second  floor  of  town  house,  74, 
101. 

Selectmen,  acts,  orders,  votes, 
&c.,of,4,  7,  8,  57,  58,64,70,74, 
75, 76,  81,  83,  84,  95,  101,  102, 
103,  107,  122;  duties  of,  102; 
food  provided  for,  7 ;  order  of 
business,  101 ;  records  of,  10, 
55, 56,  81,  82,83,  84, 85, 102/: 

Selectmen  of  Ipswich  fined  1 686- 
7,  for  protest  against  taxation, 
178. 

Sentry  (later,  Beacon)  hill,  bea- 
con on,  17. 

Serg(j)eant,  Peter,  106, 1 16, 1 17, 
193. 

Sermons  in  town  house  disap- 
proved by  Andros  government, 
180,  181. 

Sermons  on  fire  of  1711,  207/". 

Servants'  pay,  13,  14,  22. 

Service-Book,  see  Common 
Prayer,  Book  of. 

Settled  inhabitant,  decision  con- 
cerning foreigner's  suit  against, 
1644,  37. 

Sewall,  Judge  Samuel  (1652- 
1730),  xi,  193,  199;  addresses 
Governor  Dudley,  195,  196; 
captain  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honourable  Artillery  Com- 
pany, 76 ;  describes  fire  of  1 7 1 1 , 
207 ;  describes  landing  of  An- 
dros,  140;  goes  to  England, 


Index 

1688, 180;  makes  written  pub-         used  among  first  settlers,  7. 

lie    acknowledgment    of   his  Sittings  of  deputies  and  of  the 

great    offence    in    witchcraft         magistrates   separated,    1644, 

trials,  191 ;  notes  case  of  whip-  36. 

ping  in  Harvard  College,  15*;  Skottow,  Capt.  Joshua,  see  Scot- 

on  committee  to  meet  Gover-         tow,  Joshua. 

nor  Dudley,  195.  Slaves  by  order  of  the  court,  26, 
Sewall's  "Diary"  quoted  or  re-         43,  5*,  6*,  7*,  8*. 

ferred  to,  69,  70,  76,  77,  78,  Smith,  Benjamin,  a  servant,  96. 

90, 92, 93, 94,  95, 96,  107, 108,  Smith,  Frances,  60. 

109,  115,  123,  130,  135,  137,  Smith,  Capt. ,  173. 

138,  140,  141,  142,  143,  170,  Smith,  the  "Joyner,"  138,  142. 

171,  173,  177,  179,  180,  187,  Solemnization  of  marriages,  130, 

193,  194,  195,  198,  199,  206.  131,  148,  149. 

Sex  not  respected  in  penalties,  South,  William,  whipped,  5*. 

42.  South  Church,  137,  207. 

Shaw,  John,  fisherman,  62.  South  Meeting-house,  211 ;  used 
Sheafe,  Jacob,  59-  by  Andros  for  Church  of  Eng- 

Shearman,   John,   press    censor         land  services,  141,  142. 

(1665),  164.  Special   action   with   regard    to 
Shepheard,  Thomas,  press  censor         protection    against   attack   of 

(1665),  164.  Indians,  1642,  34-6. 

Shepley,  G.  F.,  reproduces  build-  Special    witchcraft    commission 

ing  design  of  town  house,  71.         and  its  work,  190. 

Sheriff,  108,  109.  Specifications    for   town    house, 
Shipmasters  or  seamen  forbidden         66,  67. 

to  drink  healths  or  shoot  guns,  Spencer,  George,  punished,  5*. 

156.  Spinning  and  weaving  of  cloth 
Shops    under    and   about   town         and   linen    recommended    by 

house,  81-7.  General  Court,  1640,  and  its 

"Short  Histoiy  of  New  England"         manufacture  encouraged,  30. 

(1694),  by  Cotton  Mather,  86.  Staircases  of  town   house,  their 

Shrimpton,  Col. ,  194.  location   and  use,  70,  74,  75, 

Shrimpton,  Henry,  60.  81,  85. 

Shrimpton,  Mr.  Samuel,  1 12, 130.  Stanes,  Richd,  60. 

Shurtleff,  Nathaniel  B.,  compiler  Starr,  Comfort,  60. 

of  "  Massachusetts  Colony  Re-  State  street,  3,  64. 

cords,"  3*.  Stephenson,    Marmaduke,    Qua- 
Simson,  Sydrak,  appraiser,  105.  ker,  hanged,  149- 

"Sister"   and  "Brother,"    titles  Stileman,  the  constable,  4*. 

[56*] 


Index 


Stod(d)ard,  Anthony,  89 ;  of  com- 
mittee on  plan  for  town  house, 
56. 

Stone,  John,  and  wife,  admon- 
ished to  make  bigger  bread, 
29. 

Stonne,  Doctor ,  104. 

Story,  Rowland,  60. 

Stoughton,  Israel,  41. 

Stoughton,  William  (1632- 1701), 
112,  113,  115;  acting  gover- 
nor twice,  195,  19*;  head  of 
witchcraft  commission,  1 90 ; 
lieutenant-governor,  192,  193. 

Strangers,  entertainment  of,  7. 

Streets,  boundaries  and  laying 
out  of  early,  3,  6. 

"Strong  water,"  10,  13,  10*. 

Stuart  dynasty  and  colony  gov- 
ernment conflict,  147. 

Stubbe,  Henry,  Westminster 
student,  whipped,  16*,  17*. 

Subscription  papers  of  contribu- 
tions for  building  of  town 
house,  58-64. 

Succession  of  English  sovereigns, 
19*. 

Succession  of  governors  of  the 
colony,  19*. 

Sudbury,  town  of,  149. 

Suffolk,  county  of,  89,  90,  91. 

Suicide,  punishment  of,  151. 

Sunderline,  John,  59- 

Surveyors  of  highways,  98. 

Surveyors  of  the  port,  22. 

Swaddon,  Philip,  runaway  slave, 
whipped,  3*. 

Sweete,  John,  63. 

Swift,  Robert,  59. 

Sylvester, ,  fined,  26. 


"Tables"  prohibited  bylaw,  11, 
165. 

Tailors,  wages  of,  14. 

Tappin,  Nathaniel,  whipped,  10*. 

Tariff  duty  on  imported  articles, 
2-2. 

Tax  for  pallisadoes,  12. 

Tax  of  colony  upon  the  different 
towns,  10,  12,  13,  17,  41. 

Taxation,  basis  of,  16. 

Taxation,  selectmen  of  Ipswich 
fined  for  protest  against,  178. 

Taxes,  sale  of  goods  and  lands 
for  non-payment  of,  25;  price 
of  corn  and  other  commodities 
to  be  paid  as,  155. 

Tay,  Will,  61. 

Taylor,  Lieut.-Governor,  207. 

Taylor,  Madam,  where  governor 
Andros  lived,  141. 

Taylor,  James,  treasurer  of  town 
of  Boston,  91. 

Taylor,  John,  son  of  Richard  Tay- 
lor, 82. 

Taylor,  Richard,  63 ;  occupies  shop 
under  town-house  steps,  81,82. 

"Testimony,  A,  from  the  Scrip- 
ture against  Idolatry  and  Su- 
perstition" (Dublin,  1660),  two 
sermons,  by  Samuel  Mather, 
123,  124. 

Thatcher,  Peter,  whipped,  8*. 

Third  meeting  house,  13*. 

Thomas  a  Kempis's  "Imitation 
of  Christ"  forbidden  to  be  pub- 
lished, 1669,  165. 

Thomas,  Widow ,  fined,  103. 

Thomas,  Evan,  63. 

Thorn,  Nathanell,  6l. 

Tobacco,  order  and  regulations 


[  57*] 


Index 


concerning  taking  of,  12,  16, 
25;  order  concerning  buying 
and  selling  of,  17. 

Tools,  price  of,  regulated,  14,  20. 

Torrey,  Mr.  ,  1690,  180. 

Torrey,  Capt.  Wm,  of  Weimouth, 
149. 

Town,  prudential  affairs  of  the, 
102,  103. 

Town  affairs,  conditions  and  con- 
duct of  early,  7,  8. 

Town  and  colony  affairs,  meeting- 
houses first  used  for,  49. 

Town  and  colony  before  build- 
ing of  town  house,  1-49- 

Town  clock,  8,  105. 

Townhouse:  and  present  old  state 
house  compared,  71  ff.;  called 
council  house  under  Dudley 
and  Andros  administration, 
1686-9,  115,  117,  136,  173, 
174,  178;  called  province 
house  from  1 692  on,  1 92 ;  centre 
of  printing,  publishing,  and 
bookselling  business,  83-5; 
most  interesting  or  instructive 
building  to  the  student  of  free 
government,  ix;  place  for  col- 
ony records,  93 ;  place  for  post- 
ing notices  and  publishing 
laws,  107-9;  place  for  public 
records,  111-18;  place  of  pub- 
lic prayer,  180;  place  of  wor- 
ship, 127-43. 

Town  house,  the,  actual  cost  of, 
68 ;  agreement  for  building  of, 
66,  67;  apportionment  of 
charges  for  repair  of,  89,  90; 
armory  removed  from  fort  to, 
1690,    186;    building    of,    en- 

[  58* 


abled  by  Captain  Keayne's  li- 
berality, 49-55;  colony  and 
crown  contest  begins  in,  163; 
committee  to  consider  model 
of,  56,  64 ;  committee  on  con- 
tracts for  building  of,  65 ;  com- 
mittee on  plan  for,  56;  condi- 
tion in  town  and  colony  before 
building  of,  1-49;  contractors 
of,  65,  67;  destruction  by  fire 
of,  1 1 7, 201  - 1 2 ;  dimensions  of, 
66,  71  ff.j  entertainment  of 
Dunton  in,  94 ;  first  meeting  of 
General  Court  in,  147 ;  first  ser- 
vices of  Church  of  England  in, 
94;  library  in  east  room  of, 
78;  lists  of  subscribers  toward 
building  of,  58-64;  location  of, 
64,  Hff.;  location  of  staircases 
of,  75;  market-place  under- 
neath, 69,  73,  74;  material 
used  for,  and  construction  of, 
72 ff.j  officials  chosen  at  first 
meeting  in,  98 ;  order  of  Gen- 
eral Court,  March  28,  1659, 
for  safety  of,  70;  origin  and 
construction  of,  5, 49 ;  probable 
interior  arrangements  of,  73; 
Puritan  feeling  as  to  use  made 
of,  198,  199;  renting  of  cellar 
under,  81;  repair  of,  89-92; 
representatives'  room  in,  91 ; 
review  of  the  history  of,  ix  -  xi, 
201 ;  shops  under  and  about, 
81-7;  specifications  for,  66, 
67 ;  subscriptions  toward  build- 
ing of,  58-64;  witnesses  to 
building  contract  of,  67;  writ- 
ten contract  for  construction 
of,  65-7. 
] 


Index 


Town  house  used  by :  colony  gov- 
ernment under  the  original 
charter,  145-71 ;  General  Court 
and  other  courts  of  colony, 
69  ff.,  93 ;  provincial  govern- 
ment, 173-98 ;  provisional  gov- 
ernment, 183-7;  town  of  Bos- 
ton, 97-106. 

Town  house,  use  of,  for:  armory, 
93;  Church  of  England  ser- 
vices, 7  8  ;  colony  and  town  uses, 
69-79;  colony  treasury,  93; 
festivities,  95;  general  pur- 
poses, 93-6;  granary,  93,  95; 
public  library,  119-26;  town 
meetings,  77,  97-100. 

Town-house  cellar,  use  of,  81JT. 

Town-house  steps,  under  which 
Richard  Taylor  occupies  a  shop, 
81,  82. 

Town  meeting,  first,  in  new  town 
house  and  officials  chosen,  98. 

Town  meetings,  acts  and  orders 
of,  49,  56,  82,  98,  99,  104,  105, 
198;  usual  form  of  warning  of, 
97. 

Town  meetings,  held  originally  in 
meeting  house,  49;  later  in 
large  room  on  first  floor  of 
town  house,  77,  97-100;  in 
Faneuil  Hall  in  lateryears,  118; 
prevented  in  town  house  by 
reason  of  General  Court  meet- 
ings, 69,  70. 

Town  of  Boston,  use  of  town 
house  by  the,  67-79,  97-106. 

Town  records,  69,  81,  83,  84,  99; 
as  far  as  preserved,  now  in 
city  hall,  118;  kept  in  town 
house,  111. 


Town  treasurer's  account  of  re- 
pair of  town  house,  90,  91- 

Towne,  Miells,  6l. 

Towns,  colony  tax  upon  the  dif- 
ferent, 10,  12,  13,  17,  41. 

Townsend,  Col.  Penn,  199. 

Townsmen,  see  Selectmen. 

Townsmen,  nature  of,  7,  8. 

Treasury  of  colony  in  town  house, 
93. 

Trials  by  jury  in  cases  of  contests 
as  to  wills,  first  law  concern- 
ing, 171. 

"Trimountain"  peninsula,  3. 

Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  Eng- 
land, whipping  at,  17*. 

Trinity  College,  Dublin,  Ireland, 
whipping  at,  17*. 

Trowent,  Morris,  whipped,  3*. 

Trusda(e)ll,    Deacon  ,    52, 

63. 

Turill,  Daniel,  6l. 

Turner,  Robert,  7,  59. 

Tyng,  Jonathan,  112. 

Tyng(e),  Edward,  58. 

United   Colonies'    confederacy, 

166. 
United  Colonies,  commissioners 

of  the,  41,  94. 
Usher,  Mrs.  Betty,  139- 
Usher,  Hezekiah,  59,  81. 
Usher,  John,  112,  113,  115,  185. 

Virginia,  3*. 

Votes   cast   between    1696  and 

1709,  77. 
Voting  power  vested  in  freemen 

alone,  20. 


r  59*] 


Index 


Wages  and  commodities,  13, 14. 

Waite,  Gamaliel,  62. 

Waites,  Alexander,  whipped,  4*. 

Waker,  Isaak,  59. 

Waker,  Thomas,  6l. 

Walcot,  William,  whipped  and 
jailed,  10*. 

Wales,  Jonathan,  180. 

Walley,  John,  113. 

WTarning  of  town  meeting,  6,  7 ; 
usual  form  of,  97. 

Washington  street,  3. 

Watch,  the,  and  the  special  or- 
der given  every  night,  70,  71. 

Watch,  assault  upon,  punished, 
10*. 

Watch  house  under  staircase  at 
east  end  of  town  house,  74, 
81,  85. 

Water  street,  the  present  State 
street,  3. 

Watertown,  133;  fined  by  Gen- 
eral Court,  26;  first  named  as 
town  in  1630,  10;  inhabitants 
permitted  to  settle  a  plantation 
on  Concord  river,  23. 

Watkins,  Walter  Kendall,  64. 

Watts's  Poems,  207. 

Wayte,  Ri,  60. 

Weare,  Peter,  96. 

Webb,  Henry,  63. 

Webb,  Mr.  ,  "shewmaker," 

63;  house  of,  52. 

Wenborne,  Willm,  63. 

Wendall,  Thorn.,  whipped,  8*. 

West,  John,  secretary  under  the 
Andros  government,  113,  1 1 6, 
117. 

Weymouth,  149;  ferry  charges 
fixed  in  1644,  38. 


Wharton,  Mr. 


1686,  173. 


WTharton,  Richard,  112,  113. 
Wheat,     price     of,     8;     posted 

monthly,  107. 
Wheelocker,  Mr. ,  of  Mead- 

feild,  149. 
Wheelwright,  Rev.  John  (1592- 

1679),  disfranchised  and  ban- 
ished, 43. 
Whipping,  cases  of,  10, 12, 142  -5, 

3* -17*;  restrained,  46;  views 

of  colonists  on,  45. 
Whipping-post,  7,  45. 

White,  Capt. ,  180. 

Whi(y)teing,  Thomas,  of  the  is- 
land of  Jamaica,  "marriner," 

133,  134. 

Whittingham,  Mr. ,  194. 

Whitwel,  William,  62. 

Whorton,  Philip,  60. 

Wigs    denounced    by    Increase 

Mather,  209- 
Wilkins,  Richard,  first  postmaster 

of  Boston  and  bookseller,  87. 
Will    of  Capt.   Robert    Keayne, 

49-55. 
Willard,  John  (1647),  107. 
Willard,    Rev.    Samuel     (1640- 

1707),  94,  95,  109,  141,  179, 

180,  193,  194. 
William  and  Mary,  accession  of, 

183. 
William,  King  of  England,  gives 

books  to  King's  Chapel  (1 698), 

125. 
Williams,  David,  whipped,  10*. 
Williams,  Heue,  63. 
Williams,  John,  59- 
Williams,  Joseph  and  Benjamin, 

106. 


[60*] 


Index 


Williams,  Nathaniell,  58. 
Williams,  Robert,  95. 
Williams,  Roger,  banished,  20. 
Williams,  Seargeant,  shop  of,  52. 
Willis,  Mical,  cutler,  62. 
Wills,  trials  by  jury  in  cases  of 

contests  as  to,  171. 
Wilson,  Rev.  John  (1588-1667), 

pastor  of  the  First  Church,  3, 

203 ;  house  of,  3,  5. 
Wilson,  Richard,  whipped,  7*. 
Winchcomb  (1686),  178. 
Winnetsemett  (  =  Chelsea),  ferry 

to,  38,  106. 
Winslow, ,  granted  monopoly 

of  making  salt,  32. 
Winslow,  John,  brings  news   of 

1689  revolution   in   England, 

183. 
Winthrop,    Capt.    (1686), 

173. 

Winthrop, ,  201. 

Winthrop,  Adam,  11 6,  117. 
Winthrop,  Governor  John  (1588- 

1649),  6,  7,  17,  18,  127,  146 

and  note;  bequeathed  his  books 

to   Harvard   College    Library, 

127;    member    of  Church   of 

England,    127;    selectman,  7; 

views  of,  as  to  public  whipping 

of  women,  45. 
Winthrop,    John     (1639-1707), 

95,  115. 
Winthrop,     Wait     (1643-1717), 

112,  113,  114,  115. 
Wise,  Joseph,  62. 
Wiswe(a)ll,  Elder  John,  62,  100, 

122. 


Witchcraft  commission  and  its 
work,  190. 

Witchcraft  convictions  annulled 
by  General  Court  in  1710, 1 91. 

Witchcraft  delusion  general  in 
middle  ages,  I89. 

Witchcraft,  Cotton  Mather  on, 
86 ;  death  penalty  for,  1 89, 1 90 ; 
Innocent  VIII  on,  191;  Long 
Parliament  and,  191,  192; 
Sewall's  confession  of  great  of- 
fence in  trials  of,  191. 

Wolves,  bounties  on,  24,  31,  39, 
40,  152. 

Women  admitted  only  as  inhabi- 
tants^;  whipped  publicly,  1 62, 
5* -15*;  whipping  of,  viewed 
calmly,  45. 

Wooborne,  town  of,  149. 

Woodbridge,  Rev.  (1697),  92. 

Woodcooke,  John,  whipped,  9*. 

Woodde,  Richard,  60. 

Woodley,  Edward,  whipped  and 
imprisoned,  4*,  5*. 

Woodman,  Ed  w. ,  of  Newbury,  1 49. 

Woodward,  James,  whipped,  12. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  American  An- 
tiquarian Society,  179- 

Worship  in  the  colony,  127. 

Worship  of  Church  of  England 
introduced  in  Boston,  203. 

Worship,  province  charter  allows 
liberty  of  conscience  in,  188. 

Wyar,  Robert,  whipped,  8*. 

Wyllys,  Capt.  Edwd,  commander- 
in-chief  at  the  fort  in  Boston, 
186. 

Wythes,  Sarah,  whipped,  8*. 


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